Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
4283 results(59 / 172)
Urban, periurban and horticultural landscapes – Conflict and sustainable planning in La Plata district, Argentina
2022Baldini 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.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsNiveles de metales pesados. Huertos urbanos en Bogotá Colombia
2022Vega Castro D.A., Vega Clavijo L.T. · Revista Luna Azul · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study sampled soil, irrigation water, and lettuce from 49 urban gardens across 13 Bogotá localities to quantify heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, As, Hg), finding that all detected concentrations remained below national and international health-based guidance values.
HealthOrganic cycleFood democracy and sustainability in France and Chile: Community gardens promote ecological citizenship
2022Biskupovic C., Maurines B., Carmona R., Canteros E. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Chile
This qualitative comparative study of community and shared gardens in France and Chile found that small-scale collective gardening fosters human–nonhuman relationships and the transmission of caring practices, thereby promoting ecological citizenship and more sustainable forms of community living.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityHome Food Gardening: Benefits and Barriers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Santiago, Chile
2022Cerda C., Guenat S., Egerer M., Fischer L.K. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Chile (Santiago)
This study examined home food gardening in Santiago during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding increased interest in gardening during the ~200-day lockdown and identifying mental health and food security as key benefits, while lack of space and horticultural knowledge were the main barriers.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationHomegardens as Sustainable Urban Agroforestry Systems to Promote Household Well-Being in Kandy, Sri Lanka
2022Jayakody S.K., Basu M. · Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries (Springer Singapore), pp. 223–249 · Sri Lanka (Kandy)
This book chapter examines how traditional homegardens in the Kandy District function as integrated urban agroforestry systems supporting biodiversity conservation, physical exercise, and mental health, while noting that increasing urbanization threatens their long-term sustainability.
BiodiversityHealthCommunityWelfareA sustainable pathway towards prioritization of multifunctional benefits in urban agriculture contributing to shrinking cities in developing countries — An empirical case of Sri Lanka
2022Wadumestrige 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.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthChallenges of urban garden initiatives for food security in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2022Ishak 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.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsEnsuring Urban Food Security in Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Is Urban Farming the Answer? A Review
2022Murdad 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.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsPlanning the urban foodscape: policy and regulation of urban agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand
2022Hanna C., Wallace P. · Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 313–335 · New Zealand
Examining the four largest New Zealand cities, this paper reveals a significant policy vacuum for urban agriculture, with restrictive zoning, inadequate recognition of Māori food practices, and a failure to accommodate emerging urban food-growing forms, calling for targeted municipal policy reform.
PolicyCommunityA simplified non-greenhouse hydroponic system for small-scale soilless urban vegetable farming
2022Gumisiriza M.S., Ndakidemi P.A., Mbega E.R. · MethodsX, 9:101882 · Tanzania
A methods paper presenting a simplified, non-greenhouse hydroponic system built from low-cost, readily available materials using the Kratky method, with detailed step-by-step instructions. Requiring no specialised equipment or power, it offers a reproducible, self-buildable approach to soilless vegetable growing in confined urban spaces, supporting DIY and maker-style citizen food production.
DIYEconomicsCommunityDecentralized composting as a waste management tool connect with the new global trends: a systematic review
2022· International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · Global
Systematic review positioning decentralized composting as a waste management tool in the context of new global trends.
DIYCompostCommunityDesign of a Friendly Solar Food Dryer for Domestic Over-Production
2022Fernandes L., Fernandes J.R., Tavares P.B. · Solar · Portugal
Builds and tests two indirect solar dryer prototypes for fruits and vegetables using low-cost, reused materials (wood, styrofoam, recycled aluminum cans). Reports drying kinetics comparable to a commercial electric dryer, cutting waste from domestic over-production.
DIYFood lossEconomicsPathways to low-cost aquaponic systems for sustainable livelihoods and economic development in poor communities: defining critical success factors
2022· Aquaculture International · Global
The paper argues that low-cost aquaponics can support food security and socio-economic development in poor communities, and defines the critical success factors needed to realize such systems.
DIYCommunityEconomicsMicro-Investment by Tanzanian Smallholders' in Drip Irrigation Kits for Vegetable Production to Improve Livelihoods: Lessons Learned and a Way Forward
2022· Agriculture · Tanzania
Examines micro-investment by smallholders in affordable drip irrigation kits (bundled with seeds, inputs and advice) for vegetable production and improved livelihoods and nutrition.
DIYEconomicsFeasibility study for estimating optimal substrate parameters for sustainable green roof in Sri Lanka
2022· Environment, Development and Sustainability · Sri Lanka
Explores composing a low-cost green roof substrate from locally available organic wastes, arguing that organic wastes offer higher plant-nutrient content, water retention and suitable pH compared with recycled aggregates.
DIYOrganic cycleGrocery Waste Compost as an Alternative Hydroponic Growing Medium
2022· Agronomy · Global
Investigates replacing conventional hydroponic media such as cocodust with compost from locally sourced grocery waste, testing four mixtures (20–80% waste compost) on hydroponic lettuce over 35 days.
DIYFood lossCompostSeeds of change? Social practices of urban community seed sharing initiatives for just transitions to sustainability
2022· Local Environment · Global
Analyzes urban community seed-sharing and seed-swap initiatives as social practices and how they contribute to just transitions to sustainability.
CommunityHeirloom & landraceBiodiversityDecentralized Composting of Food Waste: A Perspective on Scientific Knowledge
2022Sanchez A. · Frontiers in Chemical Engineering · Global (review)
A perspective article synthesising scientific knowledge on decentralized (home and community) composting of food waste, discussing its role relative to centralized systems in urban organic waste management.
CompostCommunityHorticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2022Wang, Z., Zhang, Y., Lu, S., Tan, L., Guo, W., Lown, M., Hu, X., Liu, J. · PLOS ONE · Global
A meta-analysis synthesizing RCTs and cohort studies on horticultural therapy, a form of social prescribing, for adults over 60. It indicates horticultural therapy can benefit older adults' general physical and mental health.
ElderlyHealthWelfareHow well do we know green gentrification? A systematic review of the methods
2022Jessica Quinton, Lorien Nesbitt, Daniel Sax · Progress in Human Geography · Global
A systematic review of the methods used in green gentrification research — the claim that adding vegetation such as parks, street trees and gardens raises property values and displaces existing residents. It finds that studies are heavily concentrated on U.S. cases, that early qualitative work has been giving way to quantitative analysis, that almost no attention has been paid to which characteristics of greening (scale, type, location) matter, that demand-side mechanisms remain poorly understood, and that displacement itself — the central concern of the literature — has not been well documented.
PolicyCommunityHow Much Food Can We Grow in Urban Areas? Food Production and Crop Yields of Urban Agriculture: A Meta-Analysis
2022Florian Thomas Payen, Daniel L. Evans, Natalia Falagán, Charlotte A. Hardman, Sofia Kourmpetli, Lingxuan Liu, Rachel Marshall, Bethan R. Mead, Jessica A. C. Davies · Earth's Future · Global
A global meta-analysis extracting 2,062 observations from 200 studies reporting urban crop yields, compared across crops, urban spaces (allotments, rooftops, indoor systems) and growing systems. Urban yields were on par with or greater than global average conventional yields, with the largest gap for cucumbers and gherkins (17 kg m⁻² cycle⁻¹ versus 3.8 kg m⁻² cycle⁻¹ conventional). The authors flag significant limits: observations cluster in Europe (n=516), North America (n=398) and East Asia (n=361), with the seven most-studied countries supplying roughly two-thirds of the data and sub-Saharan Africa only 223 observations; many observations come from researcher-run field experiments with controlled inputs, which is likely to inflate yields relative to ordinary citizen plots; and the literature concentrates on leafy greens and tomatoes while fruit is barely studied.
EconomicsPolicyCultivating sustainable and healthy cities: A systematic literature review of the outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture
2022Nitya Rao, Sheetal Patil, Chandni Singh, Parama Roy, Charles Pryor, Prathigna Poonacha, Mariam Genes · Sustainable Cities and Society · Global
This systematic literature review analyzed 320 articles quantitatively and 86 qualitatively from a total of 4029, examining outcomes of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) on sustainability and wellbeing. The review confirmed an exponential increase in UPA literature since 2015 and a regional bias towards the Global North. It identified six thematic outcomes across environmental, economic, and social sustainability pillars, with environmental sustainability being most discussed and gender and social differentiation least represented.
Peri-urban agricultureHealthEconomicsPolicyClimate changeUrban and peri-urban agriculture as a strategy for creating more sustainable and resilient urban food systems and facing socio-environmental emergencies
2022Andrea Fantini · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global
This paper analyzes the functions of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as a strategy for sustainable and resilient urban food systems and for coping with global emergencies. It identifies various functions of UPA and how they connect, but also discusses obstacles to its large-scale implementation. The paper highlights that despite its potential, significant barriers hinder UPA's widespread adoption.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban Agriculture as an Alternative Source of Food and Water Security in Today’s Sustainable Cities
2022Aleksandra Nowysz, Łukasz Mazur, Magdalena Daria Vaverková, Eugeniusz Koda, Jan Winkler · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global
This study explored urban agriculture (UA) as an alternative source of food and water security, employing a mixed-method approach including literature survey, case studies, and comparative analysis. It compared 25 existing projects in the global north, including allotment gardens, community gardens, and urban farms, categorizing UA into architectural-urban, ecological, social, and economic aspects. The analysis concluded that UA fulfills economic, social, and environmental functions, aligning with the concept of sustainable development.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeBiodiversityCommunityBuilding community (gardens) on university campuses: masterplanning green-infrastructure for a post-COVID moment
2022Rachael Walshe, Lisa Law · Landscape Research · Australia
This study explored how university masterplans in Australian universities express the benefits of campus community gardens as green community spaces and how they might better aid universities in achieving strategic missions, using a multiple case-study methodology. By comparing dominant themes in community garden literature with the visions of campus masterplans, the research aimed to understand how community gardens might be better positioned as tools for place and community building. The results provided a finer-grained understanding of green infrastructure in campus master planning for a post-COVID-19 moment.
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