Research & reports

· · Global

This paper discusses the unsustainable uni-directional flow of food and nutrients from rural areas to cities, which are then discharged as waste, causing pollution and nutrient depletion. Citing historical examples from Rome and London, and contemporary observations of sewage plumes in coastal cities worldwide, it highlights how valuable nutrients are lost to the sea. The paper argues that creating sustainable cities requires re-evaluating nutrient flows between urban and rural areas and understanding urban metabolism.

Chiara Tornaghi · · United Kingdom

This academic-activist research on grassroots urban agriculture initiatives, focusing on four projects in Leeds, UK, found that local and regional institutions have limited ability to respond to these new demands. Planning traditions constrain institutions, failing to create flexible public spaces. Consequently, short-term solutions are found in "loose spaces" or ad-hoc negotiations, but these remain emergency or residual practices, highlighting challenges for urban public space management.

Bruntfield, Jaclyn Rose · Scholars Archive - University at Albany (University at Albany, State University of New York) · United States (Columbia County, NY)

This abstract discusses the increased public scrutiny of food origins in the U.S. and the growing demand for alternatives to the mainstream food system, as evidenced by more farmers markets, organic products, and Community Supported Agriculture programs. It notes that post-WWII industrialization of food production, while providing inexpensive food, has potentially compromised people's relationships with food. Currently, only one percent of Americans identify farming as their primary occupation.

Shengzhong Chen · Guangdong nongye kexue · China (Guangzhou)

This study analyzed the development conditions, process, characteristics, and barriers of urban agriculture in Guangzhou City. It showed that while urban agriculture in Guangzhou has formed functions such as production, technology demonstration, ecological barriers, and leisure services, it faces internal and external development barriers including a decline in agriculture's status, expansion of urban land, labor shortages, and environmental pollution. These barriers hinder the healthy and sustainable development of urban agriculture.

윤희정, 조미경 · · Korea

This study aimed to critically consider and classify new paradigms for urban parks in the 21st century. While urban parks exhibit progressive aspects such as process, openness, productivity, and community space, they face significant criticism regarding the long development period for tree growth, covering open spaces, ecological limitations, economic validity, urban sprawl, underutilization as a low-carbon strategy, and negative consilience with contiguous fields. Based on these critical considerations, the study proposed urban agricultural parks as an alternative.

Siqing Chen · APCBEE Procedia · United States

This paper uses a housing development project in the United States to exemplify how civic agriculture can be integrated into urban development through forms like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), kitchen gardens, and farmer's markets. This integration creates a local food web, enhancing civic engagement and welfare among residents, maintaining landscape authenticity, strengthening ecosystem services, reducing carbon footprint, and promoting long-term sustainability. Civic agriculture represents a transition in agricultural practice from large-scale commodity enterprises to small-scale, self-sustaining civic activities.

许厚祺, 刘爱民 · 中国农业综合开发 · China (Tianjin)

This article describes Tianjin City's comprehensive agricultural development since 1994, focusing on expanding scale benefits and improving technological levels. Tianjin, located in northeastern North China Plain, has actively developed coastal urban modern agriculture, creating a unique path for agricultural development.

Wang Shu-jin · Nongye jingji yu guanli · Global

This paper discusses consumer-shared farms as a key component of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and a beneficial model for balancing urban and rural development in developed countries. It suggests that combining consumer-shared farms with rural citizen communities can genuinely improve farmers' incomes and address issues in harmonious urban-rural development. The paper explores the concept of rural citizen communities, related research topics, and policy suggestions.

邹冰洋 · 中国乡镇企业 · China (Beijing)

In 2012, a forum on urban modern agriculture and urban-rural integration was held in Beijing during the 13th Annual Meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology. The forum discussed successful experiences, typical models, new mechanisms, new plans, and new theories related to modern agricultural industries, increasing farmer income, and new rural construction. It focused on transforming economic growth patterns and advancing urban-rural integration.

夏平, 徐丽萍 · 公民导刊 · China (Chongqing)

On July 6, 2012, Chongqing Municipality announced a plan to divide the city into three characteristic and efficient agricultural regions, designating the main eight urban districts as an urban agriculture demonstration zone. Qianjiang District, which began characteristic and efficient agriculture construction in 2010, developed the Yangtoushan Modern Agricultural Demonstration Park. This park attracted large companies, focused on characteristic agricultural efficiency, provided a new platform for increasing local income, and demonstrated tourism value, injecting new vitality into Wuling Mountain tourism.

Nelly Niwa, Frédéric Frank · Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) · Switzerland

This record is a reference to an article titled "Vaud 2013, quelle agriculture pour quel territoire?" with keywords including agriculture, urban agriculture, and land use planning. No further abstract content is provided.

Cristina Connolly, H. Allen Klaiber, Connolly, Cristina, Klaiber, H. Allen · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

This study evaluated consumers' willingness to pay for organic certification programs using price and attribute data from 188 CSA farms in Ohio and Pennsylvania. A semi-log hedonic analysis revealed a willingness to pay approximately 9% more for organic branding compared to natural, translating to an additional $48 per summer season share. However, no premium was found for competing certification programs.

Isabel María Madaleno, Gladys Armijo · Investigaciones Geográficas Boletín del Instituto de Geografía · Chile (Santiago de Chile), Portugal (Lisboa)

This study compared intra- and peri-urban agriculture in Santiago de Chile and Lisbon, Portugal, two capitals with similar climates. The research utilized satellite images, statistics, and sampling to analyze public policies that support primary sector activities in these urban environments. The objective was to identify similarities and differences in how urban agriculture contributes to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in these cities.

Zhang Lin-qi · Hubei nongye kexue · China (Wuhan)

This study discussed a reasonable mode for urban agricultural development in Wuhan city, China, by analyzing its current progress and problems in the context of new rural planning. It described the theoretical and realistic significance of urban agricultural development and concluded that urban agriculture integrated with new countryside planning is a scientific mode suitable for the city's rural development.

Ana Carolina Vinholi, Pedro Martins · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Itajaí)

This article investigates urban agriculture practices in Itajaí/SC, Brazil, to identify their potentials and obstacles for territorial development. Using participant observation and semi-structured interviews, the study concludes that urban agriculture is an expanding phenomenon closely linked to rural exodus. It also serves as a space for the conservation of traditional knowledge.

Johanna F. Lindahl · · Vietnam

The circulation of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in pigs and mosquitoes was investigated around Can Tho city in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Of 315 sows, 60% were JEV seropositive, and seropositivity was associated with more stillborn piglets in sows under 1.5 years old. Among 7885 mosquitoes collected in and around Can Tho city, seven pools collected near pigs tested positive for JEV, indicating co-circulation of JEV genotypes I and III. All 43 pigs sampled within Can Tho city were JEV seropositive, demonstrating that JEV can be a public health issue in urban areas.

陈少金, 王志容, 廖成林 · 农村工作通讯 · China (Foshan)

Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, has developed modern agriculture by promoting urban, ecological, sightseeing, export-oriented, and brand agriculture. In 2011, the added value of modern agriculture accounted for 84.6% of the primary industry, with agricultural land output reaching 20,200 yuan per mu. This development was primarily facilitated by the establishment of "three platforms."

NI Xiao-nin · Urban Problems · China (Beijing)

This article argues, based on an analysis of Beijing's modern agriculture and environmental agriculture policies, that urban agriculture is eliminating the gap between city and rural areas and gaining the micro-desire to obey environmental agriculture policies. Simultaneously, environmental policies support urban agriculture by internationalizing it. The article suggests that institutional innovations in environmental agriculture regulation, agricultural standardization, and environmental agriculture economic policies are necessary for better environmental and urbanization development.

W. H. Butler · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

The reintroduction of livestock into urban areas in the United States creates tensions regarding public health and the urban-rural divide. This paper analyzes municipal codes to identify how communities regulate urban livestock through prohibitions of certain animals, zoning, site-level restrictions, and management requirements. The analysis demonstrates that while no two municipalities approach the urban livestock question identically, each seeks to place limits on raising livestock in urban areas using a combination of regulatory land use tools.

Yan E Duan · Advanced materials research · Global

This paper explains the concept, model, and architecture of the Internet of Things (IOT) as a network technology enabling object communication via RFID and sensors. It then details the specific application of IOT in urban agriculture, presenting an application framework model for agricultural production and product supply systems.

Christoph Kasper, Undine Giseke, Silvia Martin Han · · Morocco

As part of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's "Future Megacities" research program, the Urban Agriculture Casablanca (UAC) project investigates the extent to which urban agriculture can contribute to sustainable city design. This project aims to integrate the provision of open space within integrated and sustainable urban growth in Casablanca, Morocco. Based on an action research approach, integrated case studies in peri-urban spaces and four pilot projects were implemented, identifying synergy potentials between the city and agriculture in connection with other relevant sectors of the social and economic system.

Cai Jianming, Guo Hua, Larissa Muller, Margaret Zhou · Journal of Resources and Ecology · China (Beijing)

This study analyzed changes in Beijing's food footprint and food self-sufficiency rate over a 30-year period from 1981 to 2011. During this time, the food footprint grew from 11,800 to 29,400 km2, while the self-sufficiency rate for vegetables dropped from 59.3% to 39.0%, with significant declines also seen for fruit, grain, and edible oil. It was concluded that with proper shifts in farmland use, full utilization of temporary idle land, and the development of rooftop farming, Beijing could increase its vegetable self-sufficiency rate to 60% without significantly reducing the production of other types of local food.

Stefan Reuburn · · Global

This introductory note for a special issue provides an overview of urban agriculture initiatives globally. It points out that social science-based research on urban agriculture is currently exploratory and descriptive, and is in its initial stage of development.

Fernando Menendez Cobelo · · Venezuela (Caracas)

This project focuses on Caracas, Venezuela, against the backdrop of global economic transformations and population growth redefining urban boundaries and forms. Caracas faces housing issues and urban spatial imbalances due to rapid urbanization and population influx from past oil industries. The presence of large underutilized spaces, such as the 103-hectare former military airport site "La Cariota" in the city center, is noted as hindering urban improvement.

Jan-Eelco Jansma, W. Sukkel, E.S.C. Stilma, Alex C. van Oost, A.J. de Visser · · Netherlands (Almere)

This case study in the Dutch city of Almere calculated that 6,200 hectares of conventional farming land (or 8,100 hectares for organic production) are needed to produce approximately 20% of the daily food basket for 350,000 future citizens. Local production reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 27,000 tonnes/year, a relatively small reduction as most products are already produced in the Netherlands. The study emphasizes that other aspects, such as food basket composition, local food distribution system redesign, consumer behavior, and fossil energy use reduction, must be considered for reducing food miles, fossil energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions.