Research & reports

Chunsheng Hu, Jiang-Hai Zeng, Shao-Ren WANG · Zhongguo shengtai nongye xuebao · China

This paper reviews the demonstration practices and achievements of the Luancheng Agro-Ecosystem Experimental Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences over 30 years in Luancheng County, Hebei Province. Since the early 1980s, the station has pioneered research and demonstration of new technologies such as facility agriculture, rural new energy, straw mechanized mulching, and standardized wheat cultivation. Since the early 2000s, it has focused on urban agriculture models centered on information technology.

Yang Dan-ni · Journal of Changjiang Vegetables · Global

This paper examines the changing functions of vegetable production in urban agriculture and highlights the significance of promoting ornamental vegetable production and marketing. It proposes that the research and development of ornamental vegetables represents a viable urban agriculture production mode, facilitating cultivation shifts from rural areas to cities, enterprises to families, and fields to balconies. Key development areas include cultivar selection, equipment innovation, cultivation technology, marketing, and service system construction.

Hua Zhu, 杨军 · 青海社会科学 · China (Xining)

This paper studies the current status, existing problems, and development countermeasures for peri-urban agriculture in Xining City's Chuanqian villages. By analyzing agricultural development in Nilongtai Village, it discusses development models and policy suggestions for peri-urban agriculture in Chuanqian villages. Xining City's Chuanqian villages are a key area for urban agriculture development during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period.

Arturo Sergio Lanzani · TERRITORIO · Italy

This study treats Brianza, Italy, as a prototype of recurring relationships between residential and agricultural spaces in contemporary towns and cities, using their differences to trace the evolution of the historical landscape, the causes of its deterioration, and new planning possibilities. The simplified rural fabric of the Vimercate countryside, the strings of woodland and built-up areas in the hills, urban clearings, and the woodland and countryside of Groane are each said to open prospects for new, locally specific types of urban agriculture. The proposed future is plural, examining different relationships among agriculture, collective spaces and redevelopment of existing settlements, while opting for a halt to urban growth and reconstruction of infrastructure and landscape quality in the Brianza area.

邱祥启, 胡战军 · 新闻前哨 · China

This article recounts a decade-long "reporters sleep overnight at farm households" activity run by the Ezhou Daily newspaper in China. The 2011 edition of the activity was themed "visiting family farms to promote urban agriculture," in which 30 editors and reporters went to rural areas to eat, live, and work alongside farmers.

Gerald Forkuor, Olufunke Cofie · International Journal of Remote Sensing · Sierra Leone (Freetown)

A land-use and land-cover (LULC) change mapping exercise in Freetown, Sierra Leone, used multi-temporal Landsat data from 1974, 1986, and 2000 to map nine LULC classes. Built-up areas increased by at least 140% between 1974 and 2000, and 882 ha (27%) of agricultural lands in 1986 were converted to residential purposes by 2000. These conversions indicate a strong link between urbanization, agriculture, and deforestation, negatively impacting agricultural land availability.

H. de Zeeuw, R. van Veenhuizen, Marielle Dubbeling · The Journal of Agricultural Science · Global

This paper summarizes the available evidence regarding the potential of urban agriculture to respond to key urban challenges and reviews the perspectives on urban agriculture applied by local and national authorities.

Bethaney Turner · Local Environment · Australia

Based on an ethnographic study of community gardeners in the Australian Capital Territory, this article argues that fostering an embodied form of sustainability, which accounts for individual embodied engagement in these collective spaces, is critical for achieving sustainable urban living outcomes. It suggests that individual embodied engagement in collective spaces like community gardens can contribute to reconnection to the socio-cultural importance of food. This process may offer pathways to developing broader engagement with the food system and a long-term commitment to sustainable living practices.

Luc Hippolyte Dossa, Andreas Buerkert, Eva Schlecht · Human Ecology · Sub-Saharan Africa

A study surveyed 700 randomly selected households across Kano (Nigeria), Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), and Sikasso (Mali) to explore the relationship between household socioeconomic status (SES) and participation in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). The results showed no significant differences in UPA participation rates across socioeconomic groups. Instead, UPA participation was significantly and positively related to household size.

Christophe Antonio‐Nkondjio, Billy Tene‐Fossog, Cyrille Ndo, Benjamin Menze Djantio, Serge Zebaze Togouet, Parfait Awono‐Ambene, Carlo Costantini, Charles S. Wondji, Hilary Ranson · Malaria Journal · Cameroon

This study assessed the influence of urban pollution and agriculture on malaria vector distribution and insecticide susceptibility in Douala and Yaoundé, Cameroon, from October 2009 to December 2010. Researchers sampled 1,546 anopheline larval breeding sites and analyzed water parameters. Findings showed mosquitoes from cultivated urban areas exhibited the highest insecticide resistance levels, with urban agriculture, rather than pollution, suggested as the major factor driving resistance.

Louiza M. Boukharaeva, Marcel Marloie · Espaces et sociétés · Russia

In Russia, the collective management of urban gardens provides places for relaxation and food production, attracting all population categories. These gardens are considered socially compensatory, stabilizing, and therapeutic, acting as shock absorbers for social, economic, and food crises.

Zhuang Nan · Anhui nongye kexue · Global

This study analyzed the application of information technology in urban agriculture using theoretical and case research methods. It interpreted the connotation of urban agriculture and agricultural information technology, then forecasted the prospect of information technology application in urban agriculture based on new information technology trends.

Michael D. Howard · Design Principles and Practices An International Journal—Annual Review · Australia (Melbourne)

This case study explores potential new land-use patterns in under-utilized spaces within an intensive horticultural region in peri-urban Melbourne, Victoria, where a mismatch between title boundaries and commercial production methods has created redundant land. The project aimed to increase efficiency, introduce cross-programming, and develop a recreation strategy. It offers a design framework for reorienting land use while preserving the unique qualities of such places.

Elizabeth S Schuering · Digital Commons-DePaul (DePaul University) · United States (Cleveland)

This paper examines urban agriculture as a strategy for managing vacant land in Cleveland, Ohio, a shrinking city facing population loss and economic decline. The study analyzed Cleveland's urban agriculture movement and municipal policies, including eighteen interviews with local policy experts. Findings indicate that the municipal government supports urban agriculture as a tool for the city's revitalization efforts.

Weiming Liu · Economic Research Guide · Global

This paper discusses how urban agriculture accelerates after industrialization and urbanization reach a certain level, keeping pace with the development of industrialization, urbanization, and the economy. It states the importance of recognizing the need for good city planning with reasonable layout and design for urban agriculture, while also strengthening research and exploitation of urban agricultural technology.

Huang Qin · Resources and Industries · China (Beijing)

This paper, based on a case study of Beijing, China, discusses the necessity of integrating urban agriculture into urban ecological infrastructure construction. Through data review and comprehensive analysis, it examines the diverse services of urban agriculture, urban morphological evolution problems, green space construction bottlenecks, and urban-rural integrated development requirements. The paper analyzes specific ways urban agriculture can support urban ecological infrastructure in suburban, outer suburban, and mountainous regions, proposing government policy guarantees like optimized planning and financial support.

Helena K. Farrell · ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · Global

Modern food systems are vulnerable, necessitating a transition to regenerative agricultural practices. Urban agriculture is expanding globally to meet urban dwellers' needs and mitigate the effects of industrial agriculture. The wide variety of urban agriculture styles, practices, and production modes highlights the need for clearer articulation and more accurate distinctions between actual urban farm systems. An evaluative framework was developed in this research to assess urban farm systems using a current and comprehensive set of criteria and metrics. The long-term role of urban food production in feeding the global population remains unclear.

Zhao Shu-ming · · Global

This paper discusses the unique functions and effectiveness of urban agriculture in the construction of urban ecosystems, based on its connotation and development models. Specifically, it includes promoting the integration of urban and rural areas, strengthening the living service functions of urban ecosystems, creating a livable ecological environment, building green spaces in cities, and promoting the coordinated development of agriculture and industry.

Hong‐Yi Chen · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This article discusses the vulnerability of urban agriculture, identifying its performance in human resources, land resources, capital flows, and the ecological environment. The primary reason for this vulnerability is the unreasonable flow of human, financial, and material production factors, driven by opportunity costs, amidst rapid urbanization. Strategies for healthy development include enhancing protection awareness, promoting orderly rural labor flow, improving investment, and strengthening land resource protection.

Catherine Féart, Pascale Barberger‐Gateau · World review of nutrition and dietetics · Global

This publication contains selected papers from the 'Healthy Agriculture, Healthy Nutrition, Healthy People' conference held in Ancient Olympia, Greece, in October 2010. Topics include the relationship between architecture and agriculture, food production systems and urban agriculture, physical activity, nutrition, genetic variation, and other determinants of human health. The papers indicate that optimal nutrition aligns with ecologically and economically sustainable agriculture, and highlight the need for scientific and political institutions to integrate research into urban planning, agriculture, and healthcare systems.

杨丽红 · 时代金融 · China (Kunming)

The Xishan Sub-branch of the People's Bank of China provided guidance for financial institutions in Xishan District, Kunming City, to support "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers" (三農) in 2011. Key priorities included vigorously developing urban agriculture, specifically through the creation of Yongjing Green Vegetable Park, Longtan Four Seasons Specialty Fruit Park, and Xiaocun Ecological Leisure Tourism Park. These initiatives aimed to promote green vegetable cultivation, ornamental and processed flower development, attract suburban leisure tourism, and foster the growth of rural service industries like "agritourism."

Bertrand Foe, Salou Zoulkilf · · Benin

A transverse case study conducted from January to June 2011 in Cotonou, Benin, with 50 truck farmers, investigated adaptation strategies for water access in urban agriculture. The study found that increased temperatures and irregular rains reduce available water, making truck farming difficult and painful. Despite increased working time, production decreased by about 50%, indicating a negative economic impact.

Marielle Dubbeling, H. de Zeeuw · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Global

This handbook highlights that most urban growth occurs in less developed regions, often leading to over-urbanization where migrants struggle to find employment, adequate shelter, and sufficient food. Despite these challenges, urban poverty is frequently considered less severe than rural poverty.

Sinaí Boffill, Rafael Miguel Reyes · Redalyc (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) · Cuba

This article presents the municipal strategy for local food production in Yaguajay, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, which began in 2004 as an integral program with 29 tasks across four subprograms. The strategy, implemented through projects, prioritizes technology adoption and training in collaboration with universities and research centers. Key results include self-sufficiency in fresh milk, improved cattle herds and their feed base, development of sheep, pig, and rabbit farming, national recognition as a reference municipality in urban agriculture, biopesticide production, and partial elimination of undesirable woody plants.

Daniel Roehr, Isabel Kunigk · Berkeley Planning Journal · Canada (Metro Vancouver)

This article focuses on the role landscape architects and planners can take in creating urban food production landscapes, within the context of Metro Vancouver. Significant constraints to expansion exist due to geographical limitations, a steadily growing population, and large low-density residential areas. It is suggested that successful future food production strategies can be achieved by integrating urban agriculture into a wider city planning context and transcending the creation of community gardens.