Research & reports

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

EPA's Brownfields and Land Revitalization program page describes grants and technical assistance for assessing, cleaning up, and reusing contaminated land. As of June 2026 it lists $270 million in brownfield grants and a $1.5 billion investment under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The page does not directly discuss urban agriculture.

City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods · Seattle Department of Neighborhoods · United States

The official page for Seattle's P-Patch Community Gardening Program, run by the city's Department of Neighborhoods. It describes 91 P-Patch community gardens distributed throughout the city where residents grow organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs in shared plots that also serve as community gathering and learning spaces.

Keep Growing Detroit · Keep Growing Detroit · United States

The official site of Keep Growing Detroit, an urban agriculture organization aiming for food sovereignty in which most fruits and vegetables consumed by Detroiters are grown within the city. It runs the Garden Resource Program, education series on topics like beekeeping and carpentry, and an online farm store, Grown in Detroit.

Sole Food Street Farms · Sole Food Street Farms · Canada

Founded in 2009, Sole Food Street Farms is a social enterprise that converts vacant lots into productive farmland around Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. It trains and employs residents facing complex barriers, selling and donating fresh produce.

Black Creek Community Farm · Black Creek Community Farm · Canada

An 8-acre urban agriculture centre in Toronto's Jane and Finch neighbourhood. In 2024 it harvested 31,046 pounds across 49 crops and 115 varieties, engaged 7,500 program participants, donated 3,066 pounds of food to food banks, held over 200 workshops, and provided over 60 youth employment opportunities.

Santropol Roulant · Santropol Roulant · Canada

Santropol Roulant's rooftop farm in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood combines intensive garden beds with container gardening and keeps beehives. Produce grown there feeds the organization's meals-on-wheels kitchen, and kitchen scraps are composted in the basement and returned to the rooftop farm, forming a closed food-waste loop.

The Stop Community Food Centre · The Stop Community Food Centre · Canada

The official site of The Stop Community Food Centre, a Toronto-based food organization operating for over 40 years, running a food bank, community kitchen, and urban agriculture programs. It serves 522 meals per week, draws 126,000 annual farmers market visitors, and is supported by 180 volunteers, emphasizing community empowerment over a charity model.

Common Roots Urban Farm · Common Roots Urban Farm (Ecology Action Centre) · Canada

Official site of Common Roots Urban Farm, which operates two sites in Nova Scotia, Canada: BiHi Park in Halifax (established 2019) and Woodside in Dartmouth, on the grounds of Nova Scotia Hospital (active since 2015). It runs communal gathering gardens, teaching gardens, and 240 community allotment plots rented or donated to individuals and groups. The farm is now part of the Ecology Action Centre, working with partner organizations including Nourish Nova Scotia, YWCA Halifax, and Feed Nova Scotia.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

This EPA page explains composting: food waste is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions and makes up 24.1% of municipal solid waste. Of the 66.2 million tons of food waste generated in the US in 2019, only 5% was composted. Compost adds organic matter and boosts soil microbial diversity, reduces reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and — because it is typically processed near where it is generated — supports local economies.

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · United States

An EPA overview page on green infrastructure, explaining that rain or snow can pick up trash and chemicals as it flows into storm drains, and introducing solutions such as rain gardens, planter boxes, green roofs, and permeable pavement. The page does not present specific numeric data.

Philadelphia Water Department · Philadelphia Water Department · United States

Philadelphia Water Department's 25-year plan (2011-2036) is required to reduce combined sewer overflow pollution by at least 85 percent. In its first decade the program installed more than 2,800 green tools across nearly 800 sites, keeping more than 2.7 billion gallons of polluted water out of waterways. The Schuylkill River alone is credited with $589.9 million in annual economic impact, 6,154 jobs, and $37.7 million in annual tax revenue.

· Wikipedia · United States

A bioswale is a vegetated drainage channel that captures and breaks down sediment, organic matter, pathogens, nutrients, and heavy metals from stormwater runoff via plants and soil. At Willamette River Park in Portland (1996), 2,330 lineal feet of bioswale reduced suspended solids entering the river by 50%, and New York City has built more than 11,000 curbside bioswales.

Jeong D., Li L., Perez-Quesada G. · Choices Magazine (Agricultural & Applied Economics Association), 2nd Quarter 2026 · United States

An analysis of community garden siting through an environmental cost-benefit framework, organised around two direct costs (land and water) and two externalities (water pollution and gentrification). Cheap vacant parcels can carry remediation and infrastructure costs that exceed those of pricier development-ready sites over a garden's planning horizon, and in arid regions irrigation can be up to 34% of annual maintenance cost. On the externality side, weak nutrient management lets nitrogen and phosphorus accumulate and risk groundwater contamination, and community gardens can raise adjacent property values by 3–4% initially and around 7% within five years, potentially displacing the lower-income residents they are meant to serve. The authors note that the absence of a comprehensive geo-referenced inventory of community gardens — with establishment dates, tenure arrangements and management practices — constrains rigorous cost quantification and causal analysis.

MDRC · MDRC · United States

A project page for ABLE (Adolescent Behavioral Learning Experience) at New York City's Rikers Island, the first US social impact bond. Goldman Sachs invested $9.6 million over four years, backed by a $7.2 million guarantee from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The programme served 16- to 18-year-olds, a group with a recidivism rate near 50 per cent within a year and more than 200 additional days in jail over six years, against a New York City incarceration cost above $85,000 per person per year. Cognitive behavioural therapy was cited as capable of cutting recidivism by up to 25 per cent, and the payment threshold was set at a 10 per cent reduction; a pilot ran February–June 2012 and full implementation from September 2012 to August 2015, with Moral Reconation Therapy delivered by The Osborne Association and Friends of Island Academy.

Zhao H., Wardropper C.B., Cao H., Campbell C.G., Chang N.-B., Qiu J. · npj Urban Sustainability · United States (South Florida)

A University of Florida (UF/IFAS) study of where public support for urban agriculture actually comes from, combining a survey of 1,000 adults across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties (in English and Spanish) with AI-assisted analysis of thousands of US news stories over the past decade. Support is not monolithic: different behaviours have different drivers. A sense of community connection predicts financial donations; hands-on gardening experience predicts volunteering; a sense of shared responsibility predicts buying local produce and backing policy. News interest has risen especially since COVID-19, and is strongest in Florida and West Coast states. The authors conclude that outreach tailored to the specific behaviour being sought works better than one uniform message.

FOVIDA - Fomento de la Vida · FOVIDA (Fomento de la Vida) · Peru

Peruvian NGO FOVIDA (Fomento de la Vida) reported on 11 May 2026 on an award ceremony held 30 April 2026 in Lima Sur (Villa María del Triunfo, Villa El Salvador and San Juan de Miraflores), where more than 30 urban agriculture experiences were recognized through a photo and video contest highlighting home, school and community gardens' contributions to food security and climate resilience. Winner Victoria Arce Arguedas stated that "90% of those of us who participate in the gardens are women," while fellow winner Odilia Delgado said gardening has been a major boost to the mental health of older adults like herself.

Chen H., Wang H., Bora F., Hu Y. · Cities 166:106226 · United States

Analyzes 1,874 community gardens across 24 US cities. Neighborhood race and poverty predict garden presence, but most gardens lie outside designated food deserts, limiting their capacity to address food access gaps.

Domanus A., Smith A., Roberts M., Schnorenberg R., Doane M., Minor E. · Cities and the Environment (CATE), 17(2):9 · United States (Chicago)

A study of 24 community gardens in Chicago measuring not only cultivated crops but also spontaneous (wild/native) plants, birds, butterflies and bees. Gardens supported many spontaneous plant species (mean 8.4 per garden) alongside crops, which underpinned diverse fauna (18 bird species, 13 bee genera, 10 lepidopteran species). Socio-ecological drivers such as management type (allotment vs. communal) significantly shaped cultivated richness, the volume of spontaneous vegetation, and tree/shrub density — showing that how gardens are managed governs urban biodiversity.

Roedel J., Szendrei Z. · Urban Ecosystems · North America (urban-suburban gradient)

2025 research showing that squash bees are most abundant on suburban and urban farms compared to rural farms. Demonstrates that small-scale urban farms benefit from urban environment advantages (lower pesticide use, diverse floral resources, landscape heterogeneity), enabling bee and floral community responses to urbanization.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · North America (Sacramento, California, USA)

Field research conducted at two urban farms in Sacramento, California, USA. Investigates effects of locally produced compost and biochar amendments on soil health and plant nutrient uptake. Demonstrates feasibility of combining sustainable resource cycling with crop productivity in community-based urban agriculture systems.

Campbell C., Gusto C., Kelsey K.D., Haase H., Cohen N., Robertson K., Kiker G., Boz Z. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(2):9-26 · United States

A study in which 107 participants in a municipal community compost program in Gainesville, Florida, used a citizen-science approach to measure and record their household food waste for two weeks. Participants generated more than double the EPA's estimate (about 14 lb/week), yet 85.8% reported increased food-waste awareness and 71.5% reported reducing their waste, showing that community composting can nudge household food-loss reduction.

Soumya Keefe, Jean Lee · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (Washington)

Using an urban agriculture farmer-training program in Washington, United States, this case study examines how such programs support sustainability transitions in the food system, applying the multi-level perspective and social practice theory. It finds the program creates a space for social learning and shifts graduates' collective practices and narratives, but their capacity to change the broader food regime is curtailed without intentional state and local policy support.

Kristida Chhour, Maya Carrasquillo · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (San Francisco East Bay)

This mixed-methods case study of the water-scarce San Francisco East Bay maps 91 urban agriculture sites, interviews 34 stakeholders, and analyzes regional plans to examine water management and urban agriculture's resilience potential. It finds growers were the main water managers while municipalities and utilities were minimally involved, that land access shaped water access, and that institutional support to stabilize long-term land and water access is needed for greater water and food-system resilience.

Ashley Gripper, Tori Cowger · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · United States

Using exploratory factor analysis on 363 respondents recruited from U.S.-based agricultural networks, this study developed a survey-based scale to capture what Black- and Brown-led food justice organizations value most about community farming and gardening. The analysis supported a five-factor structure—termed "Agricultural Community Power" (AgCPS), covering collective self-determination, community care, land-based spiritual wellbeing, embodied Earth care, and Ubuntu/interdependence—with adequate reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93).

Emory Walker, Mara Welty, Emma Creviston, Jacob J. Adler · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Lafayette)

This project examined how straw cover affects the soil microbiome of a community garden, using EcoPlate carbon-source utilization analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing on samples from the Erie Street GrowLocal community garden in Lafayette, Indiana. Straw cover increased soil moisture content and significantly increased bacterial alpha diversity, with a shift toward carbohydrate preference, though beta diversity showed no difference between conditions. The authors conclude that straw coverage can improve soil microbial biodiversity and moisture, potentially benefiting yields and food quality for communities.