Research & reports

Angelina Herrera Sorzano · Veredas: Revista del Pensamiento Sociológico · Cuba

This article from Cuba addresses the terms "rural peasantry," "urban agriculture," and "food sovereignty" from a Cuban perspective. It aims to update knowledge on these concepts, which are considered basic pillars of rural development and food needs satisfaction in Latin American and Caribbean rural development.

Giuseppe Cinà · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Italy

This paper examines Italian planning, highlighting an unresolved discrepancy between urban and agricultural policies due to a long-standing separation of urban and rural worlds. It outlines how this historical gap results in two inconsistent and low-effective policies. The paper discusses agricultural parks as an attempt to overcome this planning backwardness by integrating spatial planning and agricultural activity, documenting three Italian examples.

郑书剑 · 国际城市规划 · China (Pearl River Delta)

This paper discusses "Cheng Bian Cun" (peri-urban villages) in China's Pearl River Delta region, identifying them as distinct settlements with diverse functions like housing low-income residents, suburban commerce, small industries, and urban agriculture. It argues that these functions are crucial for the overall human settlement system, but the current urban-rural dual system hinders their flexibility. The paper proposes that urban-rural planning should focus on integration, address land system limitations, and meet the needs for upgraded services and land resource market entry to improve residential rights and guide free operations in these villages.

Arnaud Frauenfelder, Christophe Delay, Laure Scalambrin · Espaces et sociétés · Switzerland (Geneva)

This article examines a contemporary urban reform in Geneva concerning family gardens, whose status is now in competition with new forms of community gardens. While the reform is presented as necessary, spokespersons for family allotment associations welcome it with some reservation. Social actors' positions for or against the reform implicitly refer to different socially situated modes of gardening and lifestyles, revealing that "urban agriculture" masks heterogeneous social meanings behind a visible consensus.

Jiang Lu · Nongye jingji yu guanli · China (Beijing)

This study analyzed the current state of urban agriculture development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, focusing on aspects like leading industry and farmers' income. It found that while the urban agriculture layout was basically formed, significant problems exist. These include resource and environmental crises, a lack of integrated regional planning, imperfect municipal systems, and challenges in upgrading the agricultural industry.

You Minglu · Guizhou nongye kexue · China

This study defines urban agriculture parks as urban parks integrating ecology, green, humanity, and industry, based on an organic combination of urban and agricultural elements. It proposes strategic thinking and overall design for the development of Tongren's urban agriculture park, drawing on experience reference and practical research, considering the city's natural landscape and agricultural industry features. The study also analyzes different development patterns in specific villages within Tongren City to propose a specific development idea for Tongren as an ecological tourist city.

Zoltán Dezsény, Bálint Balázs, Katalin Réthy · · Hungary

This study explored farm enterprises following Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) practices in Hungary. The research confirmed that CSA can be identified as a sustainable rural business strategy for innovative organic farmers. It also has transformative potential for food-system localization, providing decent livelihood, good care of natural resources, and strengthening social cohesion within the rural-urban interface in Hungary.

Attila Tóth, Ľubica Feriancová · Acta horticulturae et regiotecturae · Spain (Barcelona)

This study investigated squat farming as a typology of urban agriculture, focusing on the case study of Can Masdeu, a squatted and cultivated land at the northern city border of Barcelona, Spain. It aimed to understand how landscape and urban structures are influenced by land cultivation and how the social dimension of squat farming is structured. Spatial and perceptual analyses were applied, and users were interviewed through discussions and questionnaires, with results describing the spatial and social characteristics of squat farming at Can Masdeu.

Annabelle Schaffner · · France

Based on 2010 census data, this study analyzed agricultural holdings in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. Nearly 25,000 out of 39,000 agricultural holdings were located in rural communes, but their proportion is decreasing due to urban expansion. Structural differences between rural and urban farms are minor, mainly related to geographical location or production type. However, their economic weight differs significantly: agricultural employment accounts for over 10% of total employment in rural areas, compared to only 1% in urban areas.

Liu Hong-yi · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper discusses the concept of "modern agriculture into town," or urban agriculture, covering various city sizes and urban agglomeration areas. Findings indicate that urban farming is viable only when the comprehensive utility of agricultural output per town's land equals or exceeds that of non-agricultural industries. Urban agriculture is characterized by marketability, high profitability, public goods, and vulnerability, and requires national food security, agricultural scientific progress, and reduced industrial-agricultural disparity.

Freeman Wu · · United States (Chicago)

This graduation project proposes an urban farming theme restaurant located in an abandoned industrial area in South Chicago. The design strategy focuses on using urban farming to activate the vacant site. The proposed building is an urban farming themed restaurant.

Na Chen · · Global

This paper analyzed typical urban agriculture practices in domestic and foreign cities, categorizing them into industrialization and community citizenization modes. It compared differences in key functions, agricultural forms, and driving bodies, concluding that the modern industrialization mode is suitable for China's national conditions. The study proposes building an urban agriculture development system that focuses on economic functions while considering social and ecological aspects, with government leadership, enterprise operation, and farmer participation.

Mark Bilandzic, Marcus Foth · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · Australia

The Urban Informatics Research Lab at Queensland University of Technology focuses on interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of social, spatial, and technical research domains, including urban planning, civic innovation, and urban agriculture. The lab's approach involves user-centered design research to understand, conceptualize, develop, and evaluate sociotechnical practices and digital technology opportunities in urban environments.

LU Fe · Ecological Economy · Global

This paper analyzed the similarities and differences between rural tourism complexes and urban agricultural manors using a comparative method. Both share resource bases, industrial bases, market orientation, development ideas, target markets, and high-quality services. However, they differ in core profit points, essential supporting facilities, location selection, operators, managers, and stakeholders. The study inferred insights for constructing urban agricultural manors from existing rural tourism complex development modes, proposing construction thoughts focused on agricultural foundation, urban-rural integration, cultural integration, industrial development, and ecological civilization.

YE Xiu-yin · ACTA AGRICULTURAE UNIVERSITATIS JIANGXIENSIS · China (Nanchang)

This 2014 study analyzed the spatial distribution of 100 key urban agriculture demonstration projects in Nanchang City, China, using GIS technology. The research, employing adjacent point index and Voronoi polygon area variation coefficient, found that these projects exhibited a condensed spatial distribution. Based on these findings, the study proposed functional orientations and a "three-circle development" idea for Nanchang's urban agriculture.

Dehui Wu, WU, Dehui · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · China

This 2014 study analyzed urban agriculture development in China's Central Economic Zone, identifying several existing problems. These issues included understanding deviation, extensive development, market confusion, short industrial chains, low specialization, and a harsh environment. The study proposed countermeasures such as strengthening government macro-control and perfecting compensation mechanisms.

Ulf Hackauf · Repository hosted by TU Delft Library (TU Delft) · Global

This paper explores urban pig farming as a specific form of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). It uses a design-based research strategy, drawing on the 'City Pig' study (2009) from Delft University of Technology, to identify the potential benefits of urban pig farming and assess how un-built design projects can inform future real projects. A significant limitation is that the study concerns virtual, un-built design proposals.

Erin Silva, Fengxia Dong, Paul D. Mitchell, John Hendrickson · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Wisconsin)

A survey of Wisconsin-certified organic vegetable farmers investigated the relationships between farm characteristics, marketing strategies, and farmers' perceptions of profitability and quality of life. The data indicated that farmers selling into farmers' markets and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) were more likely to be dissatisfied with their profitability. Conversely, farmers selling into wholesale markets and restaurants/institutions were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their quality of life.

Etik Wulandari, Bambang Guritno, Nurul Aini · Jurnal Produksi Tanaman · Indonesia

This study in Indonesia investigated the effect of combining the number of cucumber plants per polybag and growing media composition on the growth and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). A single-factor randomized block design was used, with 12 treatments and 3 replications. Results showed that combinations of 1, 2, or 3 plants per polybag with a mixed growing medium of soil, chicken manure, and sand had a significantly better effect on cucumber growth and yield components compared to other treatments.

Jeanne Simonelli, Stephanie Paladino · Culture Agriculture Food and Environment · United States

This issue focuses on the movement to reintegrate food production into the civic, moral, and economic life of communities. Specifically, it highlights a qualitative study on the perceived benefits of community gardening in Baltimore, Maryland. The study explores the benefits to individuals, neighborhoods, and the city, suggesting these can be used as urban planning tools for developing healthy urban environments.

Never Assan, Edmore Nhamo · · Sub-Saharan Africa

This discussion highlights the opportunities and needs for developing and adopting urban agriculture to enhance food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. It notes that rapid urbanization is increasing demand for crop and livestock products, leading to a growing food deficit and affecting urban food insecurity. Strategies to promote food productivity gains should focus on infrastructure, appropriate agricultural policies, new technology, and incentives for urban farmers within a fair policy environment.

Feng Hai-jia · · China (Xi'an)

This study analyzed the interactive coupling relationship and spatio-temporal characteristics between urbanization and urban agriculture function in Xi'an metropolitan zone, China, using correlation and coupling models. Based on data from 2000 to 2011, the correlation degree of factors was above 0.6, indicating a close relationship, with urban economy impacting urban agriculture and urban agriculture influencing urbanization. The coupling degree ranged from 0.6 to 0.85, showing a trend towards higher-level coordination, but significant spatial differentiation was observed, with the northwest area having a lower coupling degree than the southeast.

Abdirahman Osman Warsame, Fadumo Abdi Mohamud, Ahmed Hassan Ali · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)

This scoping review synthesized evidence on the association between heavy metal contamination in vegetables sold in Kinshasa's urban markets, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and human biomarkers of consumer exposure. Available evidence consistently showed that vegetables, particularly leafy greens, from Kinshasa markets contained elevated levels of lead and cadmium, often exceeding international safety limits. However, studies directly linking vegetable contamination with human biomarkers are notably scarce, suggesting a potential exposure pathway but not establishing definitive causation.

Pascale Scheromm, Coline Perrin, Christophe‐Toussaint Soulard · Espaces et sociétés · France (Montpellier)

A study of urban agriculture in Montpellier, France, utilized policy analysis, spatial analysis, and an analysis of urban agricultural actors' practices and representations. The research revealed a great diversity in urban agriculture and a gap between its perception in urban policy and its spatial realities. Traditional agriculture is declining despite occupying more land, while new forms like gardens and agriparks are emerging, fostering interactions between public actors and citizens.

Roberto Henke, Francesco Vanni · · Italy

This study aimed to explore the multifunctional role of peri-urban agriculture in Italy through a comparative analysis of three metropolitan areas: Milan, Rome, and Naples. Market-oriented farms in these three urban areas were selected and classified into three categories: traditional, adaptive, and reactive farms.