Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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PELATIHAN DAN PEMASANGAN PANEL SURYA UNTUK PENGOPERASIAN POMPA AIR FASILITAS UMUM DI RW 04, KELURAHAN KARANGBESUKI, KOTA MALANG
2025Imam Mashudi, Muhammad Fakhruddin, Satworo Adiwidodo, Sulistyono Sulistyono, Vinan Viyus, Moh. Hartono · Jurnal Pengabdian Polinema Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia
A community service program in RW 04, Karangbesuki, Malang City, Indonesia, provided training and installation of solar panels for the water circulation pump of a tilapia fish pond urban farming business, aiming to improve energy efficiency and business sustainability. Local residents were trained on solar energy concepts, installation, and system maintenance, and a site survey assessed technical and environmental factors for optimal panel placement; installing solar panels on the pond's circulation pump reduced reliance on conventional energy, optimized pond operations, and evaluation showed increased productivity and energy efficiency, while also strengthening the local community's capacity to manage renewable energy systems.
CommunityClimate changeExamining the relationship between urban expansion and farmland protection under population decline: a multi-scale analytical framework
2025Shuang Gan, Wanglin Yan · Applied Geography · Japan
A multi-scale analytical framework examined changing relationships between urban expansion and farmland protection during the transition from population growth to decline, applied to the Odawara region of Japan. Since population decline began in 2010, conflicts between urban expansion and farmland protection have remained concentrated along the urban-agricultural fringe, with farmland loss and fragmentation continuing despite reduced development pressure, and population change was found to indirectly cause paddy field loss via built-up land expansion with a five-year lag. The main driver of farmland loss has shifted from urban development to agriculture-related loss driven by labor shortages and low farming efficiency, and agricultural promotion areas moderately retain paddy fields but offer only limited protection against fragmentation.
Environmental trade-offsPolicyPeri-urban agricultureA AGRICULTURA URBANA COMO ALTERNATIVA NA PROMOÇÃO DA SEGURANÇA ALIMENTAR E NUTRICIONAL PARA OS AGRICULTORES LOCALIZADOS NAS HORTAS COMUNITÁRIAS NO ENTORNO DO CEASA/PE
2025Cristiane Cruz Barros, Luciano Pires de Andrade, Horasa Maria Lima da Silva Andrade · Vivências · Brazil
Families participating in the Integrated Community Gardens Project near the Pernambuco Supply and Logistics Center (CEASA/PE) in Brazil were studied in a case study assessing the impact of urban agriculture on food and nutrition security (SAN) and eating behavior. Secondary data and primary data from semi-structured interviews were collected across 8 sections ('alcas') of the project, and community gardens were found effective at promoting and securing the principles of food and nutrition security and strengthening healthy eating habits among participants.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justicePublic Administration Innovation in The Integration of Waste Management and Urban Farming: A Study of The "Tanami Tanata" Movement
2025Ansar Amir, Mohammed Haruna · Interdisciplinary Social Studies · Indonesia (Makassar)
The Tanami Tanata Movement in Makassar City, Indonesia, was studied using a qualitative descriptive approach involving interviews, observations, and documentation to examine public administration innovation integrating organic waste management with urban farming. The movement was found to significantly reduce organic waste generation while strengthening family food security, achieved through multi-actor collaboration, participatory governance platforms, local circular economy implementation, and service digitization via the 'Sampah Tukar Sayur' (waste-for-vegetables) program; integrating waste management with urban farming created a sustainable cycle turning waste into productive resources with ecological, social, and economic benefits, and also spurred urban-agriculture-based micro businesses and greater public awareness of zero-waste principles.
PolicyCommunityOrganic cycleTHE ROLE OF TEACHER PEDAGOGIC COMPETENCIES IN STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTER THROUGH TATANEN IN BALE ATIKAN
2025Sucipto, Dian Peniasiani · INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR · Global
Using a library research method reviewing existing literature on pedagogy, environmental education, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the role of teachers' pedagogical competence in the local content program Tatanen di Bale Atikan was examined for its effect on students' environmental character. Teachers were found to play a crucial role in integrating environmental values into lesson planning, teaching strategies, and evaluation, with hands-on activities such as planting, plant care, and school garden management improving students' ecological literacy and developing caring attitudes, responsibility, and sustainable habits; success depended on teacher role modeling, consistent habituation, and institutional school support, and the program's potential for wider replication faces challenges including limited facilities, teacher competence, and institutional support.
Food educationCommunityCalidad del agua en el río Puyo y sus afluentes a partir de evidencias científicas y retos en Pastaza Ecuador
2025Álvaro Luis José Reyes Córdova · Horizontes Amazónicos · Ecuador
A bibliographic review of research on water quality in the Puyo River and its tributaries in Pastaza, Ecuador, compiled studies from scientific databases and institutional repositories reporting physicochemical, microbiological, and heavy metal parameters. The main sources of contamination were found to be wastewater discharges, fecal coliforms, and accumulation of heavy metals such as lead and mercury linked to urban, agricultural, and mining activities, with community perception aligning with technical findings as most of the population rated the water poor quality and associated it with health problems. Over the past twenty years, a progressive deterioration in water quality parameters has been documented, with increases in turbidity and pathogenic microorganisms despite some isolated recovery efforts, and the review concludes that lack of attention from the municipality and prefecture, together with the absence of continuous monitoring, is worsening the water crisis and demands comprehensive, participatory governance.
Contamination & food safetyPolicyHealthPembangunan Healing Garden Berbasis Kebun Hortikultura di Lanskap Pesantren Al-Muhajirin, Kiarapedes, Purwakarta
2025Prita Indah Pratiwi, Bambang Sulistyantara, Indung Sitti Fatimah, Nizar Nasrullah, Riswandi, Andy Darusalam, Yusuf Dwi Shaka Juliandri, Khansa Aqila Arrahman · Agrokreatif Jurnal Ilmiah Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia
A community activity report on developing a healing garden at the Al-Muhajirin Foundation's elderly Islamic boarding school (pesantren) on Abun Bunyamin Mukhtar (ABM) Farm in Kiarapedes District, Purwakarta Regency, West Java. The site includes 4 hectares of agricultural land planted with fruit and vegetable crops, also used for management meetings, outing classes, English camps and tahfidz camps. Through seven stages—preparation, inventory, analysis and synthesis, concept development, design creation, implementation and dissemination—the project produced a relaxation garden, a toga (family medicinal plant) garden, and an edible garden, which functioned as spaces for discussion, murojaah, horticultural cultivation, and recreation. During construction and dissemination, the community actively planted aromatic plants, engaged with the material, and completed pre- and post-tests, with post-test results showing that the outreach activity increased community knowledge about healing gardens.
Food educationCommunityHealthDas Innovationsareal Urbane Landwirtschaft – ein anwendungsorientiertes Forschungsvorhaben im Rahmen der Umsetzung der Neuen Gartenstadt Öjendorf
2025Stokman, Antje, Khokhlova, Viktoria, Peters, Lasse, König, Bettina, Lange, Doris, Bürig, Lara, Esche, Finn, Feldmann, Falko, Quambusch, Mona · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Germany
A German report on an urban agriculture innovation district being developed in Hamburg as part of the Horner Geest landscape axis and the urban development of the new Gartenstadt Öjendorf. An interdisciplinary research team from HafenCity University (landscape planning), the Julius Kühn Institute (horticultural sciences), and the University of Kassel (agricultural economics and sustainability research) is developing scenarios for a productive horticultural park and testing them on a test and demonstration site. The project aims to establish innovative forms of urban agriculture that increase the presence and perception of farming in urban space and promote direct interaction between city residents and professional agricultural actors; this report covers the project on the occasion of its first scenario workshop.
PolicyCommunityDIYExploration of the functions and potentials of urban forest gardens in Sweden
2025Marco Focacci, Christina Schäffer, Isabella De Meo, Alessandro Paletto, Fabio Salbitano · Urban forestry & urban greening · Europe
A study of urban forest gardens—multilayered, mainly perennial edible intercropping systems—in Sweden, aimed at a national inventory, identifying the drivers behind their establishment, and understanding their contribution to urban sustainability policies. The researchers identified 30 forest gardens across 10 cities and conducted site visits and stakeholder interviews, finding three main origin types: grassroots movements, schools, and municipal officials, each informed and trained by "knowledge hubs" (associations, education centres and professionals). Social network analysis showed knowledge hubs were pivotal to establishment and information circulation, while few connections existed among other actors. Stakeholders rated cultural ecosystem services—education, community building, recreation and aesthetic value (8.7/10)—higher than regulating services such as biodiversity and climate regulation (7.9/10) and provisioning services (6.5/10). Interviews also identified legal burdens on land management and use, financial sustainability challenges for both bottom-up and top-down forest gardens, and a lack of skilled labor.
CommunityPolicyGrowth and yield response of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) planted floatingly to optimization of NPK compound fertilizer
2025Delly Salsabila Amanda, Rahmat Hidayatulah, Susilawati Susilawati · Jurnal Lahan Suboptimal Journal of Suboptimal Lands · Indonesia
A study evaluating the effects of compound NPK fertilizer dosage and a floating planting system on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth, set in South Sumatra, Indonesia—a region with significant potential for floating agricultural systems amid urban agriculture expanding under population pressure and climate change. Using a Randomized Block Design with four fertilizer treatments (control P0, and P1-P3 at 1.12, 2.24, and 3.36 g NPK compound per polybag) each replicated three times across 12 units, the study assessed plant height, leaf number, fresh plant weight, fresh and dry root weight, root length, leaf greenness, leaf area, and canopy area via analysis of variance and DMRT at 5%. The 2.24 g/polybag dose (P2) produced the most favorable growth and yield, with the highest mean values across all parameters, though the calculated optimum dose was 2.05 g/polybag, which the study recommends for subsequent research.
Peri-urban agricultureAdvancing Climate Resilience Through Nature-Based Solutions in Southern Part of the Pannonian Plain
2025Jasna Grabić, Milica Vranešević, Pavel Benka, Srđan Šeremešić, M. Meseldzija · Sustainability · Europe
In Vojvodina Province, northern Serbia — a rural region where 70% of the territory has been converted to arable land — researchers used QGIS to map areas suitable for implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), drawing on CORINE Land Cover, OpenStreetMap, data from the Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province, and the EUNIS platform. The area suitable for NbS totaled 1,183,228 ha, or 55.74% of the province, with organic and regenerative agriculture projected to increase by up to 5%. Grazing was identified and mapped as a desirable grassland management option, potentially practicable on nearly 10% of the territory.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleFood Accessibility and the Sustainability of Food Security Among Urban Low-Income Households in Selangor: A Qualitative Study
2025N H Alias, Nor Hafizah Mohamed Harith, Thenmolli Vadeveloo · Journal of Administrative Science · Malaysia
This qualitative study used thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 10 residents of low-income neighborhoods in Selangor, Malaysia, to examine food access and the sustainability of food security. Five themes emerged: economic constraints, geographical and infrastructure barriers, food price and market fluctuation, limited involvement in urban agriculture, and coping strategies for food insecurity. Financial difficulty was found to be the most significant barrier to food access, forcing households toward less healthy but more affordable food, and while households' coping strategies were resourceful, they were unsustainable, underscoring the need for long-term policy intervention.
WelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHomesteading Kontemporer sebagai Strategi Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat Berbasis Keberlanjutan
2025Meistian Herizon, Didi Ardiansyah, Radeni Ilyan Putra, Reflis Reflis, Satria Putra Utama · ABDISOSHUM Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Bidang Sosial dan Humaniora · Indonesia
Using a qualitative literature review, this paper examines how contemporary homesteading — characterized by self-sufficient food production, efficient resource management and sustainable living practices — can function as a framework for community service activities in Indonesia. It finds that homesteading contributes to household economic resilience, physical and mental health, environmental conservation and stronger social networks, but also faces implementation obstacles including limited land availability, lack of technical skills, regulatory constraints and social resistance.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPengenalan Aquaponik sebagai Pengetahuan Dasar Ketahanan Pangan Berkelanjutan bagi Warga Sekolah Pendidikan Nonformal PKBM Bunda
2025Mustangin Mustangin, Aisyah Trees Sandy, Norhidayat Norhidayat, Fahrul Hidayat, Anita Febriyani, Andin Dwi Kinanti · Darma Diksani Jurnal Pengabdian Ilmu Pendidikan Sosial dan Humaniora · Indonesia
This community outreach program at PKBM Bunda, a non-formal education center in Samarinda, Indonesia, introduced basic aquaponics concepts to learners in an equivalency education program. Conducted in three stages — preparation, implementation and evaluation — the implementation stage combined icebreaking, lecture, video materials, group discussion and Q&A, with pre- and post-tests measuring change in understanding. The evaluation found that participants' understanding of aquaponics concepts improved, indicating that the learning methods used were effective for building foundational knowledge.
Food educationOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceThe Influence of Socioeconomic Characteristics on Residents Practicing Sack Farming in Ibadan, Nigeria
2025Adeyemi Israel Atanda · Open MIND · Nigeria
This study examines how socioeconomic characteristics influence residents practicing sack farming in Ibadan, Nigeria, using a cross-sectional survey and mixed methods with 1,288 respondents proportionally allocated across high- (182), medium- (708) and low-density (398) residential areas. It found benefits including efficient use of space, increased crop yields and reduced soil erosion; the 31-40 age bracket showed the highest engagement (31.3%, chi-square=41.791, p=0.003, a significant association), while participation was 34.5% male versus 65.5% female with no statistically significant gender difference (chi-square=8.035, p=0.090).
CommunityEconomicsPolicyEve in the community Garden: Black ecofeminist pedagogies as intervention in Western Christian environmentalism
2025CiAuna Heard · Environmental Education Research · Global
Using the author's own course, "Race, Gender, and Environmental Justice," as a case study, this article argues that justice-oriented climate education is strengthened when rooted in Black ecofeminist pedagogy. Set against the context of Jesuit educational institutions' commitments to sustainability since Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Si', it examines how Black ecofeminist pedagogy contributes to interrogating epistemological authority, developing structural analytical frameworks and embodied engagement with the lived world, arguing that it challenges Western Christian epistemological, methodological and political norms and pushes Jesuit environmental education toward a more critical stance on racial and gender justice.
CommunityFood educationWelfareInformality and social innovation: The survival strategy of neglected communities in Jakarta's East Flood Canal
2025Temi Indriati Miranda, Nurlia Listiani, Nugroho Purwono, Dwiyanti Kusumaningrum, Nirma Yossa, Diah Setiari Suhodo · Journal of Urban Management · Indonesia (Jakarta)
This study examines how informal actors along Jakarta's East Flood Canal (KBT), Indonesia, perceive and adapt to unclear governance conditions, based on two months of ethnographic fieldwork including 15 semi-structured interviews and field observations. It finds that informal practices such as street vending and urban farming are crucial to livelihoods and the urban ecosystem, creating green space, supporting food security and strengthening local identity, but that these actors constantly face eviction threats and exclusion from government support and protection due to inconsistent law enforcement, while still showing resilience through adaptive strategies and social innovation such as optimizing spatial use and building community networks.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsMixed effects of urbanization on pollination services among four native plant species
2025Nicholas Sookhan, Thomas M. Onuferko, J. Scott MacIvor · Ecological Entomology · United States
This study measured pollination services across gradients of within-city urbanization and urban green space fragmentation at 10 community gardens in the United States, deploying four native indicator (phytometer) plant species and measuring visitor rate and alpha-diversity in relation to each species' reproductive outcomes. Although the researchers predicted a negative effect of urbanization, they found limited evidence of decline; contrary to expectation, Lobelia siphilitica showed increased visitor alpha-diversity and higher seed mass in more urbanized gardens, fragmentation effects were mixed -- edge density correlated positively with one species and negatively with another -- and local garden floral richness showed no influence, likely because richness was uniformly high across gardens.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsTransforming urban bioresources through community gardening in Public Housing, Kuala Lumpur
2025Shahida Mohd Sharif, Izyan Ayuni Mohamad Selamat, Norsidah Ujang · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · Malaysia
This study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach supported by field observations to examine the lived experiences of long-term gardeners at the PPR Intan Baiduri public housing estate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, exploring how grassroots gardening supports resilience, health and informal governance. It found that gardening provides retirees and low-income residents with routine, emotional wellbeing and opportunities for informal economic participation, that community gardens function as micro-level bioresource systems by repurposing reserve land, composting household waste and drawing on institutional collaborations with agencies such as DBKL and TNB, and that participants collectively organize planting cycles and maintain shared infrastructure while navigating labor constraints and fluctuating participation.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsCompostUrban oases and spatial injustices: Community gardens in the Cape Flats through a Lefebvrian lens
2025Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira · Geo Geography and Environment · South Africa
This study examines how community gardens in Cape Town's marginalised Cape Flats area enact spatial justice through everyday practices, drawing on Henri Lefebvre's social production of space and its spatial triad -- perceived, conceived and lived space. Based on semi-structured interviews with representatives of 34 community gardens and state actors, supplemented by documentary analysis of planning and policy frameworks, it finds that gardeners physically transform neglected land into perceived spaces of cultivation despite insecure tenure and limited infrastructure (water access, soil quality), negotiate and subvert top-down planning by repurposing school grounds and municipal reserves as conceived space, and sustain memory and identity as lived space through crops, seed exchanges and collective action -- while persistent challenges of tenure precarity, resource scarcity and competing land-use pressures threaten each garden's longevity.
CommunityPolicyWelfareIMPLEMENTASI URBAN FARMING BAGI MASYARAKAT DESA DAUH PEKEN UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KETAHANAN PANGAN DI TENGAH KOTA
2025Ni Nyoman Serma Adi, Aditya Wirayudha, Dini Layali Apriliani, Elisa Kurnia Putri, Fitri Khaerunnisa, Ni Luh Putu Susi Ardiningsih, Nige Auliya Marga Utami, Putri Ayu, Ade Irma Cahyani, Dyah Rahayu · Suluh Pendidikan · Indonesia
An applied study using a SMART-based participatory training design examined urban farming as a way to improve food security in Desa Dauh Peken, Indonesia, a densely populated village with limited farmland vulnerable to food price fluctuations and supply disruption. Hands-on participatory training—covering cultivation on limited land, environmentally friendly farming methods, and implementation support—was delivered to 21 members of the village's Women Farmers Group (KWT). In evaluation, 61.9% of respondents reported satisfaction with the educational outcomes, and 71.4% reported the training achieved its food-security goal and had a strong environmental/sustainability impact.
Food educationFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureMillet Urban Farming for Climate Resilience: A Soilless Rooftop Solution in Japan
2025V J Valli Sri · International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology · Japan
A paper proposes a soilless rooftop urban farming model for Japan, a space-constrained country, using climate-resilient Ragi (finger millet) and Pearl Millet grown in grow bags, combined with rainwater harvesting, QR-code traceability, and biofortified microgreens. The model incorporates recent epigenetic findings linking environmental stress to heritable gene expression to improve stress tolerance without genetic modification, and is described as youth-friendly, scalable, and aligned with organic farming principles.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justiceÁreas verdes e o devir do espaço diferencial: reflexões sobre o caso de Pelotas/RS
2025Fernanda Tomiello, Sidney Gonçalves Vieira · Ciência Geográfica · Brazil
A Brazilian paper draws on Henri Lefebvre's ideas about the use and appropriation of space to examine the tension between domination, embodied in private property, and appropriation oriented toward collective, just use. Arguing for overcoming constraints that limit the appropriation of space and prioritizing human needs over market logic, the study analyzes the deterioration of green areas in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, finding that the city's Green Area Index (IAV) falls below the recommended level, and proposes practices such as urban agriculture as alternatives that challenge capitalist logic and promote the appropriation of space as a right for all.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageManagement Model for the Administration And Sustainability of a Community Garden in Mexican Southeastern
2025Diana Rubí Oropeza Tosca, Roger Notario-Priego, Dalia Alejandra Candelario-Morales, Ezequiel Notario-Priego, José Eliseo · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Mexico
A study in a rural community in Southeastern Mexico designed a management model for the administration and sustainability of a community garden, focusing on strengthening local capacities, ensuring equitable resource distribution, and promoting food security and environmental sustainability. Drawing on frameworks of social and solidarity economy, food security, sustainable development, and agroecology, and gathering data through focus groups, field visits, and semi-structured interviews with community members and stakeholders in a mixed-methods, participatory design, the study found the community committed to adopting sustainable practices, identified challenges such as resource limitations and climatic risks, and proposed agroecological practices and capacity-building as potential solutions. The resulting management model emphasizes collaborative governance and continuous monitoring.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsPOTENTIAL LEADING URBAN FARMING COMMODITIES ANALYSIS IN KEFAMENANU CITY:
2025Remigius Sotan Nino, Werenfridus Taena, Umbu Joka · Jurnal Hexagro · Indonesia
In Kefamenanu City sub-district, North Central Timor Regency, Indonesia, a study of the district's vegetable farmer population selected four villages (Bansone, Maubeli, Kefa Kelatan and Sasi) and conducted a census survey of 150 respondents in 2025. Using location quotient (LQ), shift-share analysis (SSA) and quadrant analysis, the study found mustard greens, eggplant, spinach and beans to be comparatively superior commodities, and mustard greens, long beans, tomatoes, spinach and chickpeas to be competitively superior. Commodities leading on both comparative and competitive advantage, and thus having development potential, were mustard greens (LQ=2.57, SSA=0.15), spinach (LQ=2.19, SSA=0.312) and beans (LQ=2.54, SSA=1.25).
EconomicsCommunity