Research & reports

Ilieva R.T., Cohen N., Israel M., Specht K., Fox-Kämper R., Fargue-Lelièvre A., Poniży L., Schoen V., Caputo S., Kirby C.K., Goldstein B., Newell J.P., Blythe C. · Land (MDPI), 11(5):622 · Global

A systematic review of 272 peer-reviewed publications drawing on urban-agriculture sites in 57 countries, organizing socio-cultural benefits into four domains: cohesive communities, health and well-being, economic opportunities, and education. Community connection and learning emerged as the most frequently reported benefits.

FAO, Rikolto, RUAF · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rikolto & RUAF · Global

A comprehensive guide co-published by FAO, Rikolto and RUAF for local decision-makers, urban planners and practitioners. It frames urban and peri-urban agriculture from production through to urban food systems and policy, promoting reduced food loss via short supply chains, biodiversity protection, social inclusion, and urban-rural linkages.

Kiminami L., Furuzawa S., Kiminami A. · Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science (Springer), 6(2):541-569 · Japan

Uses a mixed-methods approach to clarify how shared value is created in Japan's urban agriculture, focusing on the cognitive innovation of social entrepreneurs and urban residents' perceptions and behaviors. It argues that multifunctional urban farming can generate combined social, economic, and environmental co-benefits.

· 日本地理学会発表要旨集（J-STAGE） · Japan

Academic study surveying productive-greenland owners in Yawata City, Kyoto, on their intentions toward post-2022 urban-farmland policies such as the Special Productive Greenland system and the lease facilitation law.

Zheng H., Akita N., Araki S., Fukuda M. · Land 11(3):333 · Japan

Using 313 allotment gardens drawn from governmental open data, the study classified them by cluster analysis based on number of plots, plot size, contract price and duration, and facilities. It found that allotment-garden provision in Tokyo is differentiated from city center to suburbs by the share of agricultural land and residents' socio-demographic characteristics including population, share of young people, and income levels.

Evans D.L., Falagán N., Hardman C.A., Kourmpetli S., Liu L., Mead B.R., Davies J.A.C. · Ecosystem Services, 54, 101405 · Global

A systematic review synthesizing 157 peer-reviewed articles that compares which ecosystem services are delivered by different types of urban agriculture and green infrastructure. It finds that community gardens, green spaces and parks deliver the most diverse services, that local climate and air-quality regulation are best provided by green infrastructure alone, and that biological control and genetic-diversity maintenance peak when green infrastructure is combined with urban agriculture.

Greater London Authority, Arup · Greater London Authority (GLA) · Global

A GLA report institutionalising 'meanwhile use' of vacant land/units awaiting development, presenting support via competitions, guidance, land provision and time-limited change-of-use permissions for interim community uses including gardens.

Shao Y., Heath T., Zhu Y., Zhou Z. · Sustainable Production and Consumption · China

Assesses the economic feasibility of urban family vertical farming in Shanghai's new residential areas, finding roughly 30% return on investment and improved vegetable/fruit self-sufficiency, indicating a viable commercial market for household vertical-farming systems.

Kim Y., Shin H.-R., Oh S.-H., Yu K.-H. · Agriculture (MDPI) · Korea

Conducts a comparative economic analysis in Korea of greenhouses versus natural- and artificial-light plant factories based on insulation, lighting, and photovoltaic costs, also assessing energy use and emissions to gauge commercial plant-factory feasibility.

Kafle A., Hopeward J., Myers B. · Horticulturae 8(8):691 · Australia, Nepal

Analyzes urban agriculture viability across 40 sites in Adelaide and the Kathmandu Valley, calculating margins and benefit-cost ratios from land, labour and distribution costs, finding land cost the primary driver and labour a critical constraint to scalability.

Cichocki J., von Cossel M., Winkler B. · Agronomy 12(12):3182 · Germany

Assesses technical requirements, productivity and economic viability of a 'Smart Office Farm' indoor unit based on a five-week production cycle of lettuce, pak choi and basil, comparing indoor vertical production with field and greenhouse cultivation in Germany.

Lu N., Kikuchi M., Takagaki M. · Plant Factory Basics, Applications and Advances (Elsevier), pp. 271-293 · Japan

Analyzes the business model and cost performance of downtown mini plant factories with artificial lighting, finding their profitability high enough to attract entrepreneurs but highly sensitive to output prices, system acquisition cost and wage rates.

Zhuang Y., Lu N., Shimamura S., Maruyama A., Kikuchi M., Takagaki M. · Frontiers in Plant Science 13:992194 · Japan

Empirical study of economies of scale in constructing Japanese plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs), assessing optimal commercial scale and economic viability while accounting for transaction costs.

Dias G. M., Ayer N. W., Khosla S., Van Acker R., Young S. B., Whitney S., Hendricks P. · Sustainable Cities and Society 87:104198 · Global

Text-mining review of commercial urban agriculture literature, identifying economic drivers such as employment generation, supply-chain cost reduction, and market proximity as the main forces behind for-profit urban farming.

名古屋市 · 名古屋市 農業振興地域整備計画 · Japan

Nagoya's agricultural revitalisation area development plan, setting the institutional framework for municipally supported urban agriculture through conserving quality farmland, modernising facilities, promoting farmer-led citizen farms and collaborative local land use.

福岡市 · 福岡市 農林業総合計画 · Japan

Agriculture chapter of Fukuoka's five-year comprehensive plan, covering subsidies for citizen farms, experience farms and refresh farms plus Agrichallenge and other municipally supported urban agriculture measures.

Jing R., Liu J., Zhang H., Zhong F., Liu Y., Lin J. · Energy (Elsevier), 256:124626 · China (Shenzhen)

Integrating GIS, biogeochemical and solar simulation to quantify how much food and energy urban rooftop agrivoltaics (lettuce grown under PV panels) can produce. For Shenzhen's 854,000 rooftops (~105 km²) it estimates ~0.98 Mt/year of lettuce (meeting the whole city's demand) and ~2,106 MW of PV generating ~1,899 GWh/year, while flagging ~4.11 Mt/year of extra irrigation water as a key water trade-off.

Li M., Jia N., Lenzen M., Malik A., Wei L., Jin Y., Raubenheimer D. · Nature Food · Global

A global accounting showing that food miles account for about 20% of total food-system CO₂ emissions (3.0 GtCO₂e), giving scientific grounding to the carbon benefit of shortening food transport through local consumption.

CoSAI, IWMI · CoSAI / IWMI (International Water Management Institute) · Global

Identifies priority investment areas for urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Global South—Asia holds 49% of the world's urban irrigated cropland—and proposes investment priorities across technology, policy and finance.

Zimmer A., Guido Z., Davies J., Joshi N., Chilenga A., Evans T. · Urban Transformations (BioMed Central) · Africa

Demonstrates that African secondary cities function as connection points between rural and urban food systems, evaluating mid-size cities as intermediate nodes for food distribution, processing and market formation.

Grodzicki T., Jankiewicz M. · PLoS ONE (PMC8812895) · Europe

A quantitative analysis of how the EU Common Agricultural Policy affects rural employment, GDP and poverty in the Baltic states, showing that higher rural employment promotes rural economic growth.

Baldini C., Marasas M.E., Tittonell P., Drozd A.A. · Land Use Policy · Argentina (La Plata)

Using multicriteria analysis in La Plata's periurban horticultural belt, the study maps land-use aptitude and identifies conflict zones between urban expansion and agricultural production, calling for integrated sustainable planning.

Wadumestrige Dona C.T.G., Mohan G., Fukushi K. · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · Sri Lanka (Colombo)

A perception survey of 402 small-scale farmers in Colombo District found positive attitudes toward the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban agriculture, with environmental benefits rated highest, supporting home and community gardens as viable open-space management strategies for shrinking cities.

Ishak N., Abdullah R., Mohd Rosli N.S., Abdul Majid H., Abdul Halim N.S., Ariffin F. · Quaestiones Geographicae, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 57–72 · Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

A survey of 106 urban farmers across 17 community gardens in Kuala Lumpur identified weather variability, land access, and financial constraints as the primary obstacles to urban food production, highlighting the need for targeted policy support.

Murdad R., Muhiddin M., Osman W.H., Tajidin N.E., Haida Z., Awang A., Jalloh M.B. · Sustainability (MDPI), Vol. 14, No. 7, Article 4155 · Malaysia

This review examines how COVID-19 disrupted Malaysia's fresh food supply chain and argues that urban farming approaches—including community gardens, vertical farming, and hydroponics—can meaningfully strengthen urban food security for Malaysian households.