Research & reports

Tyler Pratt, L. Allen, David E. Rosenberg, Andrew A. Keller, Kelly Kopp · Agricultural Water Management · United States (Utah)

Irrigation evaluations were performed for 24 urban and small farms in Cache Valley, Utah, during the 2015 growing season. A great degree of heterogeneity was observed in irrigation methods, equipment, and management practices. Small fields had lower application uniformities and greater irrigation depths than large fields, and surface-irrigated fields had higher depths than sprinkle and drip-irrigated fields. The study concluded that urban and small farm irrigators need improved knowledge of proper irrigation management.

Doni Kurniawan, Y Yaddarabullah, Galih Suprayitno · Proceeding of The URECOL · Indonesia

This study implemented an IoT-based drip irrigation system for urban farming. Trial results showed that the system saved 40% of water used for plant irrigation by automatically dispensing the necessary amount. It also allowed real-time monitoring and control of plants via smartphone.

Jeffrey Hou · Urban Studies · Taiwan (Taipei)

This study examined the ongoing outcomes of Taipei's 'Garden City Initiative' amidst rising concerns for food security and climate adaptation. Based on interviews and participant observations during the initial period of advocacy, planning, and implementation between 2014 and 2017, it suggested that policy formation and implementation may require opportunistic actions involving a variety of actors. The case of Taipei indicates the need for strategic adaptation of the existing bureaucratic structure, while mobilizing its strengths and resources.

Rachelle Toinette · · Global

This paper describes an internship experience at the FReDD association, which works on disseminating and valorizing audiovisual materials as a means of raising awareness and educating the public on sustainable development and environmental issues. The internship involved tasks such as video transcription, audiovisual research, participation in various events, and notably the creation of educational sheets for a young audience on the themes of food and urban agriculture, addressing sustainable development challenges.

Lauren Boone, Lizz Ultee, Ed Waisanen, Joshua Newell, Joshua A. Thorne, Rebecca Hardin · Case Studies in the Environment · United States

This article analyzes a Michigan Sustainability Case (MSC) on urban farming in Detroit, developed by the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). This MSC embodies principles of cocreation, integration into multiple curricula, and digital innovation for enhanced experiential learning, having been collaboratively produced, deployed, and iteratively improved in successive SEAS classrooms. It incorporated field learning in Detroit, providing strong user experiences for students, faculty, and practitioners.

Shelley Burgin · International Journal of Environmental Studies · Global

This paper reports a desktop survey investigating the drivers of sustainability that motivate leisure-time gardening in private (backyard) and public (community) gardens, against a background of limited understanding of sustainability at the individual level. The survey found little mention of the "three pillars" of sustainability, and they were seldom interlinked. The study suggests the necessity to raise awareness of sustainability in an individual’s everyday leisure activities.

Rebecca Laycock Pedersen, Zoë Robinson · Local Environment · Global

This paper systematically reviewed literature on University Community Gardens for Sustainability (UCGS) to suggest directions for future research. UCGS face challenges with transient and inexperienced student gardeners but have the potential for a lasting impact on young people's food behaviors. The literature shows that UCGS have similar benefits to urban community gardens, with a greater emphasis on educational and environmental sustainability benefits.

Charlie Wilson, Hazel Pettifor, Emma Cassar, Laurie Kerr, M. Wilson · Energy Efficiency · Global

This paper investigates the potential for consumer-facing innovations to contribute to emission reductions for limiting warming to 1.5 °C. The study identifies 99 potentially disruptive low-carbon innovations related to mobility, food, buildings and cities, and energy supply and distribution, including car clubs and urban farming. The potential emission reductions from these innovations were assessed using two methods: a survey of experts' perceptions and a quantitative scaling-up of evidence to the UK population.

Tanja Schneider · · Switzerland (Zurich)

This chapter presents the conceptual framework for studying entrepreneurial visions of sustainable food. It highlights trends in the growth of agtech and foodtech startups and reviews debates on food security and sustainable food systems. UrbanFarmers (UF), an urban agriculture company founded in Zurich in 2011, is presented as an example that builds rooftop farms for commercial growers in the city.

Lutfi Asnan Qodri · SKRIPSI Jurusan Ekonomi Pembangunan - Fakultas Ekonomi UM · Indonesia (Malang)

This qualitative exploratory study assessed the prospects of the "Gelintung Go Green" urban farming village in Malang City, Indonesia. It analyzed initial formation data, vision, mission, roadmap, and development efforts to examine its prospects from economic, social, and ecological aspects. The study concluded that the village has good prospects for future continuation if these three aspects are adequately fulfilled.

Daina Romeo, Eldbjørg Blikra Vea, Marianne Thomsen · Procedia CIRP · France (Lyon)

This paper analyzed the environmental impacts of ReFarmers' pilot farm, a high-yield vertical hydroponic croft in the urban area of Lyon, France, from a life cycle perspective. Results indicated that the hydroponic farm performed better than cultivations in heated greenhouses and similarly to conventional open field farms. Furthermore, the electricity input source was a determinant factor; if carbon neutral (e.g., wind energy), vertical hydroponic production could outperform the two conventional agriculture types.

Ibrahim Aliyu Kankara, Hani Farouk · Annals of Geographical Studies · Nigeria (Kano)

This research evaluated potable water distribution problems in Kano municipal, Nigeria. Using data from 384 questionnaires and investigations of water supply institutions, the study concluded that water supply in Kano municipal does not meet demand due to problems such as insufficient water treatment plants, power failure, and funding shortages.

Danielle Sinnett, Gemma Jerome, Nick Smith, Sarah Burgess, Roger Mortlock · International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning · Global

This paper presents an emerging benchmark for green infrastructure (GI) developed through literature review and stakeholder engagement, addressing uncertainty in GI design, delivery, and maintenance. The benchmark offers flexible standards for assessing GI policy, planning, design, delivery, and long-term management across various spatial scales. Preliminary testing on two mixed-use developments found the benchmark performed well, rewarding high-quality GI without demanding exemplary levels.

Sonam Wangyel Wang, Woo‐Kyun Lee, Jeong‐Gyu Kim · Urban Studies and Public Administration · Global

Focused on Thimphu, a high-altitude city in Bhutan, this study assesses baseline social and environmental conditions, challenges and barriers to climate adaptation and identifies opportunities for ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). It finds that the city's poorly planned infrastructure causes congestion — with associated increases in carbon emissions and driver conflict — and that flooding of sewage systems exposes residents to infection risk. Much of the urban poor living in informal settlements lack adequate access to basic facilities and so turn to surrounding natural resources, depleting the environment and eroding ecosystem services, including protection against natural hazards such as flash floods, landslides and forest fires, with disproportionate effects on vulnerable groups. The study recommends integrating EbA interventions — urban agriculture, agroforestry, greening projects, resettlement of informal settlements, education on coping strategies, and institutional, technical and individual capacity building — into climate adaptation strategies and development plans, and calls for the city authority to secure adequate funding and build capacity to plan and implement EbA.

Nanna Jordt Jørgensen · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · South Africa

Drawing on a case from the Amanzi for Food project in South Africa's Eastern Cape and earlier material on community gardens in Port Elizabeth, this think piece reflects on how people whose livelihoods depend on land and animals experience and cope with the uncertainty generated by climate change. It focuses on intergenerational interaction and learning in food gardening, arguing that these processes shape responses to uncertainty oriented toward creative solutions rather than debilitation.

Eugene Mohareb, Martin Heller, Peter Guthrie · Environmental Science & Technology · United States

Using data from the literature and government sources, this study quantified life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the United States food system at an estimated 3,800 kg CO2e per capita in 2010, with cities directly influencing about two-thirds of food-sector emissions. Assessing selected mitigation measures, the study found that up-scaling urban agriculture and expanding home grocery delivery would each cut only about 0.4% and roughly 1% of total food-sector emissions respectively, whereas changes in waste management and a 50% reduction in post-distribution food waste would cut total food-sector emissions by 5% and 11% respectively.

Jamie Matthews, Akhtar-Khavari Afshin · Journal of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University · Global

This paper argues that as land values rise with increasing population density, legally established practice has pushed agriculture out of the urban environment, leaving cities dependent on regional and industrial agriculture, with urban agriculture practiced mainly in developing countries as a defense against hunger and malnutrition or as poverty alleviation. It contends that urban agriculture can contribute to environmental recovery in the Anthropocene, on the premise that existing conservation and protection strategies should not be assumed to be sufficient on their own, without presenting empirical measurements.

Yun-Cheol Nam · Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering · South Korea

A case study of the development process and community life of the Sanneoul eco-village in South Korea, created to welcome urban dwellers choosing to return to rural life and to help prevent rural depopulation. Nearly fifty community meetings were held by residents during construction. Public funds covered most basic construction costs, with residents paying only for property, land and buildings. The village includes rainwater recycling, grass blocks, rooftop gardens, an ecological sewage plant, solar heating, a pellet boiler, a fireplace and ondol floor heating, and residents actively participate in recycling garbage, food waste and human waste; the study reports residents are content with the village's eco-friendly features.

Chhaya Kolavalli · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

This is a review of the book Just Green Enough: Urban Development and Environmental Gentrification, framed against the fact that cities account for more than 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It presents the book as a guide to strategies for equitable green urban development — including the promotion and support of urban food systems — as part of climate mitigation and adaptation. The book primarily addresses problems from environmental hazards in the built environment, with several chapters specifically covering urban food production and distribution, offering strategies the review describes as readily applicable to urban planners, activists and community members working in urban food systems.

国土交通省 · 国土交通省 · Japan

MLIT's national survey of rooftop and wall greening construction results for FY2017, aimed at mitigating the urban heat island effect and lowering urban carbon emissions, recorded about 23.1 hectares of new rooftop greening (roughly five Tokyo Domes) and 5.5 hectares of new wall greening that year, bringing cumulative totals since FY2000 to about 498 hectares of rooftop greening and 90 hectares of wall greening. Average project area was 261 m2, with a growing trend toward large-scale mixed-use projects.

Roger Attwater, Chris Derry · Water · Australia

This paper presents a case study in Western Sydney, Australia, examining the role of water recycling for agricultural use within the peri-urban water cycle. It identifies and discusses aspects that enhance resilience, such as water resource security, avoidance of wastewater discharges, enhanced landscape ecology, and provision of ecosystem services. The study also considers environmental risk management, local agricultural products, social values, livelihood opportunities, and the industrial ecology of recycled organics.

Mastura Safayet, Md. Faqrul Arefin, Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan · Journal of Urban Management · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study explored the current practices and challenges of rooftop farming in Mirpur and Mohammadpur areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Researchers interviewed two practitioners and surveyed 60 non-practitioners. Findings indicate that rooftop farming can improve air quality, reduce atmospheric carbon, and lower stormwater management costs, with most non-practitioners willing to dedicate at least 50% of their roof space to it.

Barbora Duží, Bohumil Frantál, Marian Simón Rojo · Moravian Geographical Reports · Europe

This article provides a theoretical and conceptual introduction to urban agriculture in Europe, reviewing its diverging issues from a geographical perspective. It discusses urban agriculture within the context of urban and rural transformations, urban regeneration, agricultural restructuring, and land-use conflicts. The paper summarizes current research and presents main trends and concepts, emphasizing the challenges they pose to geographers.

Michael Kennedy · OpenSIUC (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) · Global

Community gardens can serve as important local greenspaces to address environmental degradation and educate individuals about the importance of food and the environment. However, certain barriers need to be overcome and addressed before community gardens are successfully implemented. Participation and interaction within community gardens may provide a pathway to long-term commitment to sustainability, encouraging individuals to adopt more environmentally supportive behaviors and a deeper commitment to environmentalism.

Courtney M. Gallaher · CABI eBooks · Kenya

This chapter considers the effects of landscape greening, including small urban farms and sack gardening, on residents' perceptions of the environment in Kenya's Kibera slum over the last 10 years. It examines what environmental issues residents perceive as most serious, who they believe is responsible for addressing these problems, and to what extent they believe sack gardening is changing Kibera's physical and social environment.