Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
11393 results(67 / 456)
Assessment of Agritourism Potentials of Mudchute Farms, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom
2025Kolawole Farinloye, Grzegorz M. Józefaciuk, Samson O. Ojo, Ibukun A. Ayodele, Mayowa A. Aduloju · Journal of Natural Resource Conservation and Management · United Kingdom
A study evaluated the agritourism potential of Mudchute Park and Farm, an urban farm in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom, using a mixed-methods approach that combined qualitative assessment of the farm's existing infrastructure and programming with quantitative analysis of its plant and animal biodiversity (2025). Structured data was used to model potential offerings such as educational programs, hands-on workshops and thematic tours. The farm's collection of rare-breed animals and native and cultivated plant species was identified as a base for development, and the study proposed recommendations including a farm-to-fork culinary experience, expanded seasonal festival programming, and leveraging the farm's position as a rural site within a major city.
Food educationCommunityEconomicsEnvironmental Risk Analysis and Control For the Development of Sustainable Urban Agriculture
2025Fetty Dwi Rahmayanti, Andi Gunawan, Anas Miftah Fauzi, Edi Santosa · Journal of Tropical Crop Science · Indonesia
A study of East Jakarta, Indonesia, one of the cities where urban farming practices have been implemented, analyzed environmental risk control for sustainable urban agriculture development in 2025. Environmental risks caused by biotic and abiotic factors were identified across 17 question categories and assessed on low, medium and high risk scales. Air dust was found to carry the highest risk among the biotic and abiotic factors examined. Respondents were found to have reasonably effective knowledge of environmental risks, but the study concluded that deeper understanding and increased knowledge are needed to achieve sustainable urban agriculture.
PolicyHealthClimate changeMonitoring sustainability of urban agriculture: Who is going to do it and how?
2025Sebastian Eiter, Wendy Fjellstad, Loes van Schaik · Landscape and Urban Planning · Europe
Drawing on case examples from five European cities, a 2025 study identified the challenges involved in monitoring the sustainability of urban agriculture, from selecting indicators and gathering data to using the results. Urban agriculture is often positioned as a tool to increase the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cities and city food systems, yet sustainability is difficult to measure, fueling debate about how sustainable urban agriculture truly is and leaving a lack of incentive to promote it or protect existing initiatives threatened by development pressure on urban land. Comparing the five cities revealed large differences in what topics were monitored, who was responsible, who gathered data and when, what data was recorded and how it was stored, and how findings were disseminated or published. Based on these findings, the study recommends stronger involvement of existing interest groups and educational institutions in monitoring, along with promotion of convenient tools for citizen-science data collection and long-term data storage.
PolicyCommunityImproving an African urban mosaic for insect pollinators through increased floral diversity and better functional connectivity
2025Ibukun Balogun, James S. Pryke, Temitope Kehinde, Michael J. Samways · Landscape and Urban Planning · Africa
A 2025 study investigated how insect pollinator diversity differs between gardens, agricultural areas and natural areas within a southern African urban mosaic composed of an urban core, farms and natural areas, and examined how urban green spaces influence pollinator taxonomic diversity. Direct observation and pan traps were used to assess pollinator diversity alongside measured environmental, floral and landscape variables. Results showed similar pollinator diversity between agricultural and natural areas for some taxa, and between agricultural areas and urban gardens for other taxa. Floral variables were the most important predictors of pollinators, with greater floral diversity ameliorating the effects of urbanization and agricultural intensification, while landscape context was significant but less important. Although results varied considerably among taxa, the findings suggest agroecological farming may buffer natural areas from urbanization effects and reduce urbanization's impact on pollinators in urban gardens by providing needed resources. The study identifies floral variables as important for urban green planning, achievable through establishing more flowering plants in human-modified areas such as semi-urban agricultural areas and urban gardens.
BiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureEvaluasi Potensi Pertanian Perkotaan Berdasarkan Karakteristik Fisik Tanah di Wilayah Samarinda Ulu dan Samarinda Utara, Kalimantan Timur
2025Arum Sekar Kedhaton, Prince Clinton Immanuel Christian Damanik, Hizwatin Maulidya, Yuliana Devina Angela Jane, Juwari Juwari · Prosiding Seminar Nasional Pembangunan dan Pendidikan Vokasi Pertanian · Indonesia (Samarinda)
A 2025 study analyzed and compared the physical characteristics of soil in two areas of Samarinda City, Indonesia — Samarinda Ulu and Samarinda Utara sub-districts — as a basis for evaluating urban farming potential, using a descriptive-comparative approach to examine soil texture, structure, color and consistency. Results showed the soil in Samarinda Ulu had a fine sandy loam texture, small crumb structure and olive brown color (2.5Y 4/4), while soil in Samarinda Utara had a somewhat coarser texture, angular blocky structure and reddish brown color (5YR 4/4). These differences indicate variation in water retention and drainage capacity that affects crop suitability: Samarinda Ulu soil was found more suitable for horticultural crops, while Samarinda Utara soil suited drought-tolerant plants. The study is intended to inform the development of sustainable urban agriculture in humid tropical regions.
CommunityPolicyTowards SDG 2: Healthy Soil Leads to Healthy Food
2025Zulma Lopez Reyes, Dalia Alshahrani, Jovana Čvorović, Mary May, Maged M. Saad · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global
An educational article on Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) describing how soil microbes act as natural fertilizers that improve soil quality and protect plants. The authors are researching how to use microbes to help plants grow in warmer climates, testing this work in school gardens where students learn about healthy soils and growing nutritious food using new technologies.
CommunityFood educationHealthPolicyInspiring Social Capital Through Community Green Space: Pathways and Implications
2025Lin Ye, Shuang He, Yong Li, Zhaohui YAN, Lei Huang · Landscape Architecture · China
Against the backdrop of China's evolving urban community governance—from the danwei (work unit) system under the planned economy, through the neighborhood committee system of market reform, to the current community-based governance model—which has eroded kinship-based ties and left communities more fragmented with declining residents' sense of belonging, this research examines how green space development, including community gardens and urban agriculture programs, can build social cohesion and resident wellbeing while facing persistent challenges around sustainable funding models, quantifiable outcomes, and equitable access across socioeconomic groups. The methodology combines CiteSpace visual mapping analysis with inductive and deductive review methods in a three-stage process that analyzes countries with the largest research output and tracks changes in key research topics over time.
CommunityPolicyGuerrilla Gardening and Resourcing
2025Mieke Lopes Cardozo, Bas van den Berg, Koen Rens Wessels · · Europe
A narrative account of involvement with FRIS, a community within the University of Amsterdam working on education innovation for a fair, resilient, and inclusive society. The speaker, Mieke, describes being invited to coordinate and supervise a round of thematic teaching-innovation scholarships—organized jointly by the university's Teaching and Learning Centre and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies as part of the university's strategic plan—and to help build a learning community oriented toward more regenerative ways of learning and working.
CommunityFood educationDIYAssessment of physicochemical and biological properties of allotment garden soils in Nysa town (S Poland) after the flood in 2024
2025Jacek Antonkiewicz, Iwona Paśmionka, Grzegorz Szychowski · Soil Science Annual · Poland
Following a flood that inundated allotment gardens in Nysa, southern Poland, for up to 14 days after the water rose on 14 September 2024, researchers analyzed 12 soil samples collected in early spring 2025 from two allotment garden sites. Most soils were found limed and disinfected, with high organic matter but low total potassium, sodium and sulfur. Zinc and copper concentrations exceeded the average for Polish arable soils, pointing to use of materials enriched with these elements.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthPeri-urban agricultureParches ecológicos para recuperar el paisaje cultural evolutivo del Barranco Tumino de Moyobamba, Perú
2025Camila Urbina Lavajos, Oscar Vargas Chozo · Devenir - Revista de estudios sobre patrimonio edificado · Peru
A qualitative, descriptive study of the Tumino ravine in Moyobamba, Peru, examined the degradation of its evolving cultural landscape caused by inappropriate land use and informal settlement. Results showed 41% of the ravine area under conservation while another 41% faced unsustainable uses such as dumping and drainage discharge, with landscape fragmentation found to be affecting ecological connectivity and biodiversity. In response, the study proposes a system of ecological patches including urban gardens, green corridors, paths, boardwalks, viewpoints, wetlands and urban lagoons.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureBiodiversityClimate changeOPTIMALISASI LAHAN SEKOLAH UNTUK BUDIDAYA PENANAMAN TOGA DALAM MENDUKUNG KESEHATAN LINGKUNGAN
2025I Gede Fery Surya Tapa, I Kadek Angga Budi Astrawan · Community Development Journal Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia
A community service report from SDN 3 Serangan, a public elementary school in the Serangan sub-district, Indonesia, describes a program to grow family medicinal plants (TOGA) on school grounds to raise environmental health awareness. Activities included site observation, plant species selection, land preparation, seedling procurement, and training and outreach to students. The program is reported to have increased use of school land for TOGA cultivation, expanded students' knowledge of TOGA, and encouraged active student participation in environmental health activities.
CommunityFood educationHealthDesigning a Sustainable Pilot Garden to Promote Environmental Education at Carlos Albán Holguín School in Bogotá, Colombia
2025Angie Tatiana Ortega-Ramírez, Arley Lida Moreno, José Enrique Luna Correa, Miriam Reyes Tovar, Óscar Silva-Marrufo, Miriam América Caballero Olvera · Sustainability · Colombia (Bogotá)
A study designed and implemented a school garden at Carlos Albán Holguín school in Bogotá, Colombia, as a strategy to secure food for vulnerable communities and promote environmental education, structured in six stages including diagnosis, characterization, formulation and pilot validation. Surveys and checklists evaluated garden conditions and students' understanding of environmental practices. After implementation, 75% of students showed outstanding comprehension of sustainable agriculture and 80% effectively applied organic farming principles.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justicePEMANFAATAN GALON BEKAS UNTUK PENANAMAN TERONG DAN CABAI DALAM UPAYA MENINGKATKAN PEREKONOMIAN PADA IBU-IBU PKK
2025Affan Khoerul Pratama, Niken Kusuma Dewi, Ardhian Oktawidyaman, Afia Mansyoorah Nurjaman, Bintang Restu Darmawan, Dimas Arifil Akbar, Die Bhakti Wardoyo Putro · An-Nizam · Indonesia
A community service program in Cepokosari hamlet, Bantul, Indonesia, provided technical training and intensive mentoring to members of the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) on growing eggplants and chili peppers using repurposed used water gallon containers as vertical-gardening planting media, aiming to reduce plastic waste while promoting household food security and economic improvement. The results show that using used water gallons as planting media enhanced plant productivity, yielding enough produce for household consumption with a surplus sold for supplementary income for participating families.
DIYCommunityWelfareOrganic cycleNeglected Spaces or Potential Grounds? Water (In)security and Climate Adaptation in Peri‐Urban Asia and Africa
2025Sumit Vij, Vishal Narain · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · Global
This review addresses a knowledge gap on how peri-urban residents in Asia and Africa adapt to the impacts of urbanization and climate change on water security. As rural-urban boundaries rapidly blur in the global South, peri-urban spaces are characterized by weakening access to water resources, depleting common property institutions and poor civic engagement, and the review presents the persistent marginalization of peri-urban residents from a water security perspective, while also showing that they do develop adaptation measures. Existing literature is found to focus primarily on (1) increased vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture and allied sectors, (2) barriers and enablers to water-security-related adaptation planning, and (3) justice in peri-urban areas, and the review calls for further study of emerging cooperation and collective action that could reduce conflicts between peri-urban and urban inhabitants and improve water security.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureClimate changePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceSeguridad Alimentaria en Quintana Roo: Análisis Documental de Iniciativas Locales Frente a la Dependencia de Alimentos Importados
2025Ximena Guadalupe Culebro Cervera · Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar · Mexico
Quintana Roo, Mexico, depends on imported food for more than 60% of state consumption, creating structural vulnerability for the local economy, ingredient freshness, and food autonomy. Using a qualitative, critical-interpretive documentary approach, this review analyzed 27 academic, institutional, and community sources to examine how local initiatives — urban gardens, resilient Maya agriculture, and food cooperatives — contribute to self-consumption, the recovery of traditional knowledge, fair trade, and access to fresh ingredients. These practices help preserve endemic species such as criollo maize, chaya, and achiote, and the review states that such strategies need to be integrated into territorial public policy.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareKongsi Co-op—Towards Individual Development and Community Wellbeing
2025Siu Hou Chong, Paw Lan Tai, Chen Yee Teh, Siao Hoong Sam, Ning Hii, Jia Yi Tan, M D Isa M. Saffiuddin, Jia Hao Lau, Chee Yuan Ng, Chiou Woan Leng · World sustainability series · Malaysia
This is a case description of Koperasi Kongsi Selangor Berhad (Kongsi Co-op), a Malaysian consumer co-operative. The co-op connects local producers and consumers through community-supported agriculture and community-supported education, promoting organic farming, sustainable practices, ethical business, and lifelong learning. It reports having overcome financial and resource constraints by building an internal culture and network.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEvaluación estructural de terrazas con muros de piedra de junta seca para agricultura urbana en la ciudad Lima
2025Julio César Alcántara Cornejo · Communities in DSpace (Pontifical Catholic University of Peru) · Brazil
Lima, on Peru's coast, faces both seismic hazard and a shortage of drinking water, and many residents live on hillsides in informal housing built on terraces supported by dry-joint stone walls (pircas), which creates vulnerability to heavy loading, particularly seismic loading, and drives up the cost of or lack of basic services. Building on earlier proposals to use these vernacular terraces for environmental improvement and urban agriculture on Lima's hillsides, this study set out to experimentally evaluate the performance of pirca-supported terraces intended for urban agriculture. The procedure involved establishing a baseline, characterizing a base terrace prototype, designing and constructing a test specimen, and then load-testing it. The stated aim of the resulting test data is to build a technical basis for the structural viability of such terraces so that local governments and other interested organizations can support their large-scale implementation.
Peri-urban agricultureMultidimensional Climatic Vulnerability of Urban Market Gardeners in Grand Nokoué, Benin: A Typological Analysis of Risk Exposure and Socio–Economic Inequalities
2025Vidjinnagni Vinasse Ametooyona Azagoun, Kossi Komi, Djigbo Félicien Badou, Expédit Vissin, Komi Sélom Klassou · Geographies · Africa
Drawing on socio-economic, techno-agronomic, and perceptual data collected from 369 growers in the Grand Nokoué region of Benin, this study combined multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) with ascending hierarchical analysis (AHA), confirmed by K-means partitioning, to identify profiles of climatic vulnerability among urban market gardeners. Three distinct vulnerability groups were identified, differing in socioeconomic, technical, and territorial characteristics and in their exposure to flooding, drought, and dry spells. The most vulnerable farmers were disproportionately young women with low incomes, limited access to land, and reliance on manual irrigation in flood-prone areas. The findings point to an uneven distribution of adaptive capacity and a need for public policies tailored to strengthen the resilience of small-scale, low-income, and land-insecure urban farmers who are exposed to these climate-related risks.
Environmental trade-offsClimate changeEconomicsFrom Waste to Resource : Advances in Wastewater Treatment for Agricultural Reuse
2025Namitha Krishna, N A, Parvathy Sasikumar, Shiv Ganesh · Environment and Ecology · India
India's population is projected to exceed 1.5 billion by 2050, and growing urbanization and industrialization are expected to substantially increase water demand and wastewater generation. Domestic and industrial use currently account for 15% of India's water reserves, a share projected to rise to 30% by 2050. Treated wastewater is described as an increasingly important resource for peri-urban agriculture, while untreated wastewater is described as posing serious environmental and health risks from toxic metals, micro-contaminants, and pathogens. This review surveys recent developments in wastewater treatment for agricultural reuse, covering both conventional sequential treatment stages that remove solids, organic matter, and other pollutants, and advanced technologies that target specific contaminants such as xenobiotics and persistent organic pollutants.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleLand tenure (in) security in the context of urban flood risk in Ghana
2025Abdul-Salam Ibrahim, Marney E. Isaac, Thembela Kepe · Land Use Policy · Ghana
Focusing on Ghana, where floods driven by urbanization and climate change are destabilizing urban systems in which land tenure is integral, this study drew on political ecology and land-tenure-security frameworks to examine how floods affect the land tenure security of flood victims. Based on semi-structured interviews with flood victims and planning officials, it found that flood-induced rezoning and new planning schemes, tenant insecurity, relocation, loss of land documents, and threats to urban agriculture all affect flood victims' land tenure security; possessing land documents was found to be important for tenure security but not an absolute condition for victims' perceived security. Post-flood land-use planning for flood risk management was found to have dual potential — it can enhance tenure security and bolster community resilience, but when carried out in an exclusionary way that overlooks the urban poor, it can instead perpetuate inequality and tenure insecurity. The study recommends tenure-responsive land-use planning that embeds contextual, procedural, and distributive equity principles into planning responses to urban floods.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyWall Gardening Sebagai Strategi Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Perkotaan Melalui Konsep Urban Farming
2025Liliek Dwi Soelaksini, Trisnani Alif, Tirto Wahyu Widodo, Ilham Muhklisin, Dewi Puspa Arisandi, Nurfadilah Nurfadilah · Sejagat · Indonesia
In PKK RW 27, Tegal Boto Lor (Sumbersari District, Jember Regency, East Java, Indonesia), where urban residents with limited agricultural land had already been using roadside planting of trees and ornamental plants, a community service team introduced the urban farming concept through wall gardening, delivered via education and soft-skills training. Comparing pre- and post-test results, the share of residents meeting the "good" knowledge criterion rose from 20% before the training to 53.4% after.
CommunityDIYEdible campus landscapes as sustainability interventions: a case study of South China Agricultural University
2025Yu Hang · Cities & Health · China
Because the widespread adoption and upkeep of edible campus landscapes remains limited in Chinese higher education, this case study at South China Agricultural University examined the factors shaping users' willingness to take part in such landscapes. Using a mixed-method approach grounded in an Extended Combination Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior, it tested how subjective awareness, perceived benefits and costs, external support, and resource availability affect participation. A structural equation model based on 408 survey responses found that perceived benefits, external support, and awareness were key enablers of engagement, while maintenance costs, time burden, and limited institutional support remained critical barriers.
Food educationCommunityCircular Urban Agriculture
2025Robert C. Brears · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global
A book chapter on circular urban agriculture, discussing strategies for sustainable food production in rapidly growing cities. It surveys urban farming methods including rooftop gardens, vertical farming, hydroponics and community gardens, framing resource efficiency — using waste streams, conserving water, and minimizing inputs like soil and fertilizer — as the core of the circular approach, and describes water conservation and recycling (drip irrigation, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting) and nutrient recycling through biosolids as key components for improving soil quality and productivity.
CommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleFrom soil to sustainability: developing collaborative research practice partnerships with urban farms
2025Marc T. Sager, Anthony Petrosino · Discover Cities · United States
A perspective piece arguing for research-practice partnerships (RPPs) between researchers and urban farms, particularly in underserved urban areas in the United States, to address food insecurity, environmental sustainability and community empowerment. It contends RPPs provide a structured framework for long-term collaboration, giving urban farms access to resources, policy advocacy and evidence-based practices while giving researchers community-based knowledge, and positions such partnerships as essential for overcoming structural barriers such as gentrification, racial inequities and environmental degradation.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION POLICIES IN MATO GROSSO: OVERVIEW, CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES
2025Samuel Oliveira Cunha, Diógenes José Gusmão Coutinho · Revista fisio&terapia. · Brazil
A qualitative, exploratory study of environmental education in Mato Grosso, Brazil combined literature review, document analysis and study of practices in municipal and state schools. Practices such as school gardens, recycling workshops, selective waste collection and digital tools were found effective for instilling socio-environmental values when integrated into the curriculum with community participation. The study also reports that insufficient teacher training, infrastructure limitations and project discontinuity still undermine the effectiveness of these actions.
Food educationCommunityPolicy