Research & reports

Catherine Burke · Paedagogica Historica · Global

This paper explores the "edible landscape" of schools in the UK context, examining the historical and pedagogical significance of food and drink production and consumption within educational institutions. It notes that early accounts viewed children's association with food as potentially chaotic and a marker of social class differences. However, schools also served as important sites for food production and consumption as a form of pedagogy from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries.

Isabelle Duvernoy, Françoise Jarrige, Paule Moustier, José Serrano · Agritrop (Cirad) · Global

This article examines the integration of agriculture into urban projects, focusing on how the recognition of agriculture's multifunctionality changes project governance. Based on case studies in different countries, it shows that decision-making becomes more complex with the emergence of new stakeholders and consultation procedures. The study details how multifunctional urban and peri-urban agriculture is recognized, the legitimacy of local public action, its translation into urban planning, and the involvement of agricultural professionals in urban open space planning.

Isabelle Duvernoy, Françoise Jarrige, Paule Moustier, José Serrano · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Global

This paper examines how the recognition of agriculture's multifunctional character influences the local governance of urban development projects. Using international case studies, it explores the involvement of agriculture in urban management, changes in decision-making arenas, and the legitimacy of urban and peri-urban agriculture in local public policies. It also discusses the translation of urban agriculture functions into town planning documents and identifies the stakeholders involved, particularly agricultural institutions.

Ian Knowd, David Mason, Andrew Docking · · Global

The integration of agriculture into urban landscapes has a long history, intensifying since the industrial revolution, with early "garden cities" remaining utopian ideals. In contemporary urban development, renewed interest in agriculture relates to implementing sustainability and addressing globalization's structural changes to communities, food systems, and urban quality of life. Urban agriculture is a strategic resource requiring a strategic planning approach that recognizes its economic, social, and environmental values.

Ranasinghe · The International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management · Sri Lanka

This paper expands knowledge on urban agriculture through literature analysis and feedback from implementing the Family Business Garden concept in Sri Lanka. It argues that traditional home gardening distracts urban planners from the economic and social value of small-to-medium agro-entrepreneurship. The paper emphasizes the necessity of formal acceptance for micro-farming activities by mainstreaming urban agriculture in the development sphere.

Gil Doron · Architectural Design · Global

This paper by Gil Doron explores urban agriculture's potential ecological, economic, and social benefits for city dwellers. It notes that horticulture, often overlooked by architects, exists at various scales in most cities globally, from window boxes to large farms. The author suggests urban agriculture could be a significant design revolution.

D.C. Little, Stuart W. Bunting · CABI Publishing eBooks · Global

A review chapter surveys the concept, opportunities and constraints of urban aquaculture in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), using the "extended metropolitan region" (EMR) and "waste economy" models to outline three development trajectories: opportunistic development within a changing aquatic landscape as urbanization proceeds, continuation of existing aquaculture in modified form as urbanization occurs around it, and strategic siting of new enterprises to exploit resources such as nutrients, markets or information. Urban aquaculture is described as providing benefits at household, local and municipal levels including waste disposal, food production, flood control, employment, environmental quality and recreation, while constraints include loss of suitable physical locations, changes in waste disposal practices, shifting attitudes and demand as urban areas grow more affluent, and vulnerability to contamination and theft due to the openness of aquatic systems.

Maija Heimo · Social & Cultural Geography · Colombia (Bogotá)

This is a notice of a doctoral dissertation completed at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, titled "A Political Ecology of Conservation: Peri-urban Agriculture and Urban Water Needs in Mexico City." The dissertation examines the cultural politics of peri-urban agriculture and urban water needs in Mexico City.

Louiza M. Boukharaeva, Gustavo Kauark Chianca, Marcel Marloie, Altair Toledo Machado, Cynthia Torres de Toledo Machado · Cadernos de Ciência & Tecnologia · Global

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) treats the development of urban agriculture as part of sustainable human development policy, as it proposed at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in June 1996. This article analyzes urban agriculture in three cases: Russia, where it developed after World War II; France, representing Western European countries where the activity has been marginalized; and Brazil, where its development is a consequence of agricultural modernization that pushed people into cities. Surveys and a literature review show that urban agriculture has historically reduced the intensity of food crises and has contributed to feeding part of the population in normal periods, while also serving functions of pleasure and relaxation, therapy, and identity. It helps transmit cultural heritage and can be used educationally. Developing these functions requires both legislative action ensuring long-term access to land plots for all social groups and joint activity among multiple public and private participants.

Madaleno I.M., Gurovich A. · Cities · Chile (Santiago)

Using periurban Santiago's La Pintana district as a case study, this paper demonstrates that the urban–rural dichotomy is inadequate for capturing agro-residential realities, where cooperative smallholder farming coexists with urban uses in what the authors call a living ecocity laboratory.

Herbert Girardet · · Global

This book explores the concept of liveable cities for a sustainable world. Its chapters cover a range of topics including urban ecological aspects, the role of technology, globalization, transport, efficient water use, relearning urban agriculture, and building EcoPolis.

Rocío García Bustamante, John Butterworth, M. Flierman, Daniel Herbas, Melvin Hollander, S. van der Meer, P. Ravenstijn, Magaly Reynaga, Gustavo Zurita · · Bolivia (Tarata)

In 2002, Tarata, Cochabamba, Bolivia, experienced violent conflicts over the right to use water from the Laka Laka dam for urban agriculture. The dam was intended for large-scale irrigation and domestic use, but not urban productive uses, leading to disputes when the urban population sought water for homestead cultivation. Although 5% of the reservoir yield was allocated for urban supply, its poor quality prevented drinking use, prompting the community to organize for its use in irrigating small plots, despite opposition from irrigation farmers.

Jin Guo-feng · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper discusses urban agriculture, defining its concept and analyzing its types, features, and functions. It posits that with rapid urban development, the integration of city and countryside, along with urban agriculture, represents a trend in modern agriculture.

Ademola K. Braimoh, Paul L. G. Vlek · Earth Interactions · Ghana

This study quantified land-cover changes in a 2400-ha area of northern Ghana using Landsat images from 1984, 1992, and 1999, and projected future distribution. Remote sensing showed built-up area expansion at 26 ha/year (1984-92) and 35 ha/year (1992-99), alongside peri-urban agriculture development at 24 ha/year (1992-99). Projections indicated built-up areas would cover 39% of the landscape by 2006, at the expense of cropland and natural vegetation.

Marian Goslinga · Cuban studies · Cuba

This entry from "Recent Work in Cuban Studies 2003" lists several publications related to Cuban agriculture and urban agriculture from 2003. It includes books such as "Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba" and master's theses on user benefits of urban agriculture in Havana and sustainable livelihoods in Cienfuegos. The entry also references articles discussing land-use planning, economic reform, and agricultural policy in Cuba.

Simone Fullagar · World Leisure Journal · Australia

This article draws on Foucault's later work on ethics and subjectivity to consider Socrates' question, "how are we to live?". Through a case study of an Australian community garden project (Northey Street City Farm), it outlines the transformative potential of leisure practices in constituting the ethical self.

Tacoli, C. · Environment and Urbanization 15(1), 3–12 · Global

A classic synthesis of urban-rural interactions, systematizing flows of people, goods, capital and information between countryside and city, and showing—via South Asian and sub-Saharan cases—that cities are essential to rural development.

Zavisca J.R. · Slavic Review · Russia

An ethnographic study showing that dacha food cultivation among urban Russians serves as a discursive arena for debating the rationality and morality of the post-Soviet transition to capitalism, not merely an economic survival strategy.

Pallot J., Nefedova T. · Journal of Rural Studies · Russia (Moscow Oblast)

Examines the diverse forms and micro-geography of personal food plot production in Moscow Oblast, revealing how geographic, historical, and structural factors shaped household farming during the post-socialist transition.

Premat A. · European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies · Cuba (Havana)

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Havana (1999-2001), this article examines urban garden parcelas as sites revealing tensions between private and public domains, finding that revolutionary values around food security and community persisted in post-Soviet Cuba despite assumptions of growing individualism.

Diao Yong-zuo · Zhongguo Qingnian Zhengzhi Xueyuan xuebao · Global

Urban agriculture is a significant phenomenon of social and economic development and an important constituent of the urban industrial structure. It has overtaken and promoted traditional agriculture, with its function and influence extending beyond traditional agriculture, becoming a significant aspect of the modern urban economy. Actively cultivating urban agriculture is a key task for developing the modern urban economy and achieving agricultural modernization.

Bernard Keraita, Pay Drechsel, Philip Amoah · Environment and Urbanization · Ghana (Kumasi)

This study in Kumasi, Ghana, investigated the influence of urban wastewater on stream water quality and peri-urban agriculture through interviews and water quality assessments. It found that population increase and underinvestment in sanitation facilities led to large volumes of untreated wastewater entering streams. High levels of faecal coliform were recorded in the city's streams, downstream areas, and on vegetables sold in Kumasi’s markets due to contaminated wastewater.

André Fleury, Paule Moustier, Jean-Jacques Toiron · Agritrop (Cirad) · Global

This project aims to analyze the specificities and contributions of peri-urban agriculture to the transformation of peri-urban spaces into urban territories. It seeks to unify analytical concepts for agriculture in urban areas and produce intervention tools for urban planning and agricultural policy. The project hypothesizes that the sustainability of peri-urban agriculture depends on its ability to integrate into urban policy and projects, leveraging diverse urban demands.

Todd A. Randall, Cameron J. Churchill, Brian W. Baetz · Environment and Planning B Planning and Design · Global

A prototype decision support tool, coded as an ArcView GIS extension, is described for managing existing green spaces and establishing new ones in suburban neighborhoods. It suggests techniques like naturalization of parks and increased street foliage, and allows modeling and evaluating future scenarios for sustainable community development. The tool's applications are discussed to illustrate benefits of neighborhood greening strategies.

Derek Wall · · Global

The Green movement has historically been defined by ruralism, concerned not just with environmental quality but with promoting a way of life close to the land, with calls for radical land reform by figures like John Ball and Fergus O’Connor. Modern remnants of this "back to the land" campaign include allotments and city farms, often situated in depressed urban areas.