Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Dinámicas de la agricultura urbana y periurbana en el sudeste bonaerense
2025Laura Patricia Mulazzi, Francisco Jose Pescio, María Amalia Lorda, Christophe Albaladejo, María Amalia Lorda, Laura Jiménez, Gastón D. Godoy · El Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual (National University of La Plata) · Argentina
This essay surveys urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as it has developed across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Africa. It argues that in South American, Asian, and African countries, UPA is oriented mainly toward meeting the food and income-generation needs of poor and economically excluded populations, who use food production to reduce their socioeconomic vulnerability, whereas UPA in European and North American countries serves different ends tied more to leisure, quality of life, and recreation in public spaces.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceIntegrating Urban Agriculture with Land Use Policy at Neighbourhood Scale: A Mitigation Strategy for Climate Change in Qatar
2025Shikha Patel, Deepthi John, Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad, Raffaello Furlan, Rima J. Isaifan · Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The) · Global
A 2025 study in the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy used Onaiza, a low-rise mixed-use residential neighbourhood on Qatar's western coast representative of suburban Doha, as a case study to examine how urban agriculture could be integrated into land use policy as a climate-change mitigation strategy in Doha Municipality. Drawing on a literature review, examination of successful case studies, and expert interviews, it identified challenges and potential for permitting urban agriculture as a land use, then produced a design proposal amending land use policy through urban planning simulations, subsidies and other incentives. It starts from the premise that food systems, food security and urban agriculture are not yet well positioned within Qatar's existing land use policy, despite the country's vulnerability to food imports and to climate change.
PolicyCommunityClimate changeSocio-Economic and Institutional Drivers of Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption in Bangladesh
2025Nazmul Haque, Ranjan Roy, Abdullah All Imtiaz, Rafio Rahmatullah, Ronzon Chandra Das, S.M. Abdul Gani, Md. Shamsuzzoha, Kamrun Nahar Sheuly, Khalid Syfullah, Akther Banu · International Journal of Agricultural Extension · Bangladesh
A study of 105 climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-practicing farmers in Chuadanga district, southwestern Bangladesh, using structured face-to-face interviews. Multiple regression analysis in SPSS (version 20) across eleven variables found that education level, organizational participation, ICT access and positive attitudes toward CSA significantly influenced adoption, while farm size and access to finance had comparatively less impact. The model explained 47.7% of the variance in CSA adoption.
Peri-urban agricultureClimate changeDigital agriculturePolicyEconomicsParallel Agent-Based Framework for Analyzing Urban Agricultural Supply Chains
2025Manuel Ignacio Manríquez, Verónica Gil-Costa, Mauricio Marı́n · Future Internet · Global
A technical paper presenting a parallel agent-based framework for analyzing vegetable trade dynamics within a metropolitan area. It combines agent-based and discrete-event techniques to model interactions among farmers (who select crops based on market trends and environmental risk) and vendors and consumers (who adapt purchasing behavior to seasonality, prices and availability). To handle the computational demands of large-scale scenarios, it employs an optimistic approximate parallel execution strategy and a credit-based load-balancing mechanism to improve scalability. The framework is presented as enabling detailed analysis of urban food distribution systems relevant to smart cities and digital agriculture.
EconomicsDigital agricultureCommunityAssessment of biodiversity risks in urban agriculture: Case of Jakarta, Indonesia
2025Fetty Dwi Rahmayanti, Andi Gunawan, Anas Miftah Fauzi, Edi Santosa · Jurnal Agronomi Indonesia (Indonesian Journal of Agronomy) · Indonesia (Jakarta)
A mixed-methods study assessing biodiversity risk from urban agriculture activities in East Jakarta, Indonesia, combining a literature review with a field survey of questionnaires on respondents' perceptions of biodiversity risk to flora and fauna. The results showed the p-value exceeded the alpha level (0.05), indicating that urban agriculture in East Jakarta does not significantly affect biodiversity risks to flora and fauna.
Limited or null effectBiodiversityCommunityPolicyUrban Agriculture for Environmental Sustainability: Perception of City Dwellers
2025Md. Maruf Billah, Al Muzahid, Md. Nasrul Millat, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman · Journal of Environmental Science Health & Sustainability · Bangladesh
A structured face-to-face survey of 200 randomly selected residents in Bangladesh, conducted in 2024 and analyzed with SPSS version 29, examined perceptions of urban agriculture. 34.5% of respondents fell into the early-adopter category; rooftop gardening was the most widely adopted practice (93.5%), followed by homestead gardens (80%) and container gardens (66.5%). 94.5% perceived urban agriculture as contributing medium to high to environmental sustainability, and 92.5% saw reduced cost of living as its main benefit. Innovativeness, training exposure, extension access, media contact, education, group membership and market access were identified as adoption factors, while 89% of respondents reported facing medium to high constraints to adoption.
CommunityClimate changeBiodiversityPolicyHealthComparative study of cultivation methods for optimizing lettuce production on household balconies
2025Aili Yang, Yiwei Ma, Jia Chen, Haiyan Yang, Zhenji Wang, Qingqing Shen, Huajie Yin, Yuyan Wang · Indian Journal of Horticulture · India
In India, cultivation methods for optimizing lettuce production on household balconies were compared: circulating hydroponics, static hydroponics, and substrate cultivation against soil cultivation as a control, evaluating growth, yield, and quality. Hydroponic systems significantly outperformed soil cultivation. Static hydroponics produced the highest biomass, with fresh and dry weights increasing by 10.53% and 55.29% over the control. Circulating hydroponics had slightly lower yield but increased vitamin C content by 6.57% and sensory quality by 41%, ranking second overall. Substrate cultivation showed moderate gains, with vitamin C up 5.14% and taste rating up 19.66% versus the control. Considering growth performance, space efficiency, ease of management, and cost, static and circulating hydroponics were identified as the most suitable systems for balcony-based lettuce cultivation.
DIYCommunityDigital agricultureThe impact of decomposer size classes and litter quality on litter decomposition in food forests
2025Isabelle van der Zanden, Gelieke G.T. Steeghs, Lieke Moereels, G. F. Veen · Agroforestry Systems · Global
This study examined litter decomposition dynamics in food forests, perennial multi-layered food production systems gaining popularity as alternatives to intensive, input-dependent agriculture that rely on nutrient recycling via litter decomposition. Litter from Alnus glutinosa (black alder), Corylus avellana (common hazel), and Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut), ranging from high to low litter quality, was decomposed in food forests planted on former grasslands and compared with neighboring grasslands. Litter bags of varying mesh size were used to assess the relative contribution of microbes and micro-, meso-, and macrofauna to short-term litter mass loss, and abundance and biomass of key decomposer groups were quantified. Decomposer communities differed between land use types: food forests harbored a higher abundance of oribatid mites but a lower abundance and biomass of earthworms and lower arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biomass than grasslands. Overall litter mass loss differed little between the systems, except that high-quality litter accessible to the full decomposer community lost more mass in grasslands. The lowest-quality litter (sweet chestnut) decomposed slowest, with its rate unaffected by mesh size or land use. High-quality leaf litter generally decomposed faster in grasslands than in food forests, and the distinct decomposer communities in young food forests did not favor breakdown of recalcitrant litter.
BiodiversityCommunityOrganic cycleTerraShift
2025Shah, Mill Jignesh, Shah, Mill · Digital Commons - RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) · India
This design thesis addresses the imbalance in India's rapid urbanization, where Tier-I cities dominate as aspirational centers while smaller towns face depopulation, economic drift, and cultural amnesia. Centered on Sidhpur, a town in Gujarat with Bohra Muslim architectural heritage and a history of Hindu-Muslim cultural synthesis, the project proposes a regenerative model reclaiming Tier-II and Tier-III towns' vitality through layered strategies of adaptive reuse, vernacular craftsmanship, and integrated food systems. Abandoned havelis (mansions) are reimagined as living infrastructure for memory, sustenance, and economic regeneration, through reviving vernacular craft, embedding urban agriculture within the architectural fabric to reinforce local food sovereignty, and fostering reverse migration by creating culturally familiar, aspirational environments. It is presented as a scalable model grounded in participatory design and sustainable material practices; no quantitative evaluation results are reported.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsTowards Urban Resilience
2025Andreas Wesener, Matt Morris · · Global
This chapter examines urban gardening in Christchurch, New Zealand, since the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes through the lens of resilience — disaster resilience, community resilience, food resilience, and the broader notion of urban resilience. After discussing post-earthquake urban gardening projects in Christchurch, it shows that notions of food resilience are contextually interwoven with the region's earthquake disaster history. It finds, however, that recent initiatives show discussions of food resilience have broadened to become inclusive of a range of environmental, socio-economic, and cultural challenges, with Christchurch's urban gardens becoming part of a wider resilience narrative responding to more diverse crisis scenarios. The chapter argues that this broadening of discussion and focus creates new opportunities — including new funding avenues, research, and strategic investment — for urban gardening.
CommunityPolicyClimate changeApplication of Appropriate Technology for Making Organic NPK Fertilizer by Utilizing Palm Oil Mill Waste in Bekiung Village
2025Listya Utami Karmawan, Rory Anthony Hutagalung, Yanti Yanti, Irwin Suryaatmadja, Michelle Nadine Hardjawidjaja, Yasinta Ratna Esti Wulandari · Journal of Saintech Transfer · Indonesia
The abstract describes a project with the Villa Ciomas RW 10 Farmer Group (PokTan Vici 10) in Ciomas Rahayu Village, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, which practices urban farming on a small plot beside the Cisindangbarang River and already had a small fishpond but lacked aquaponics equipment. A community service team aimed to enhance the urban farming facility by installing aquaponics equipment, running workshops on basic hydroponics and aquaponics knowledge, exploring business potential, and providing hands-on cultivation practice, with monitoring and guidance throughout. The hydroponic/aquaponics installation succeeded, though nutrient supply from the fishponds alone was initially suboptimal, requiring supplemental hydroponic nutrients; hydroponic techniques were also introduced for vegetable cultivation. A pre/post-training questionnaire analysis showed the program significantly improved participants' knowledge and aquaponic skills (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p<0.05). The aquaponics equipment was installed successfully, and participants gained foundational knowledge and skills enabling them to manage aquaponics systems independently through to harvest; the community plans to explore business opportunities selling hydroponic/aquaponic products.
CommunityOrganic cycleFood educationDIYSchool gardens in rural schools in Santa Fe: an analysis from the perspective of social anthropology
2025Lucía Caisso, Marina Eliana Espoturno, Ana Guadalupe Montenegro · CONICET Digital (CONICET) · Argentina
In rural primary schools of west-central Santa Fe province, Argentina, an anthropological study examined the relationship between education and environment. It reconstructs the social, productive and environmental context shaped by intensive agribusiness (agronegocio) and analyzes how this context affects school gardens, an activity rural teachers frame as part of Environmental Education. The analysis reveals tensions between the pedagogical mandate to develop school gardens, their reframing as Environmental Education, and the socio-environmental problems present in these settings, aiming to identify the limits and potentials of this pedagogical work around environmental issues.
Food educationCommunityWild Food Forests in Tribal Jharkhand: A Community-Led Model Reviving the Bonds Between People and Forests
2025Kulesh Bhandari · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · India
This press release reports on the field progress and community engagement of the Wild Food Forests in Tribal Jharkhand initiative in India, led by biodiversity researcher Kulesh Bhandari (M.Sc. Zoology, Godda College, SKMU) with support from The Pollination Project Foundation (USA). The project spans multiple tribal villages, including Bodiya Panchayat, Fhagu Tola, Rajapathar, Mandal Chak, Silthiya B Panchayat (Basdhuma Upar Tola, Niche Tola, Debri), Salaipahari, and Gardiapahari (Gopikandar Range). It aims to restore diversity of wild edible and medicinal plants such as Dumar, Dova, Mahua, Koha, and Bel by combining traditional knowledge with scientific monitoring.
CommunityBiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceDIYEvaluación de la sostenibilidad de la agricultura urbana en el Municipio de El Alto, Bolivia
2025Medardo Wilfredo Blanco Villacorta, Marcelo Tarqui Delgado, Gladys Jhovanna Challco Challco · Sapiens Studies Journal · Bolivia
This study evaluates the sustainability of urban agriculture in the Municipality of El Alto, Bolivia, in the context of urban poverty among migrants marked by limited access to housing, basic services, education, health and employment, and low income, alongside an observed rise in nutritional food insecurity. Using a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach, the research found that the activity is led mainly by women aged 26 to 65 (average age 46) in households averaging five members, who typically have secondary education or less, limiting job opportunities and leading them to combine domestic work with urban production for income. Immigration has driven the expansion of urban agriculture by drawing on prior knowledge; many families have more than 10 years of experience and manage gardens of 3 to 50 m2, using solar tents and agroecological methods, with most having access to drinking water and some collecting rainwater, and sales taking place at local fairs generating additional income. However, sustainability indices show that these production systems have very low or unsustainable levels across their economic, environmental and social dimensions, indicating a need for strategies to strengthen their long-term viability.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommoning the gardens by the Bloc . Informal gardening practices in the collective housing districts of a post-socialist city
2025Alex Axinte, Carmen Rafanell, Bogdan Iancu · Environmental Sociology · Europe
This study investigates the persistence of "gardening by the bloc," an informal urban gardening practice in the green spaces of collective housing districts in post-socialist Bucharest, Romania. Often dismissed in public discourse as a leftover of socialist-era survival strategies, the research instead reconsiders it as an everyday social interaction that supports communities amid urban transformation. Drawing on Tsing and De Angelis, the study frames the practice as a local form of "latent commons" reflecting broader socio-political shifts in a post-socialist city. Based on qualitative research, it documents how residents use, adapt and manage these green spaces and their relations with institutional actors under increasingly neoliberal governance, arguing that the overlap between a market-oriented regulatory project, inherited socialist structures, and collective spatial practices has shaped a distinct way of living together. As an emerging form of urban commons, gardening by the bloc can sustain shared communal practices against an increasingly individualized society and lay groundwork for bottom-up regeneration of housing estates, but the article also reveals contradictions inherent to latent commons, including internal tensions and ambiguities.
CommunityDIYFood sovereignty & justiceExploring urban garden ponds: considering chemical pollution as a limiting factor for insect diversity in cities
2025Johanna Bock, Márcio Zamboni Neske, Martin Krauß, Andrea Dombrowski, Jörg Oehlmann · Environmental Sciences Europe · Europe
Focusing on small water bodies in private urban gardens, this study examined whether chemical pollution limits insect diversity, given that gardens make up a significant share of urban green area and can serve as important habitats and stepping stones for insects, while pesticides, fertilizers and chemical run-off from building materials can strongly affect habitat quality and insect biodiversity. Garden pond toxicity was assessed using in vitro and in vivo methods and chemical screening. Of 17 ponds examined, only one water sample and one sediment sample were found non-toxic in a bioluminescence assay with Aliivibrio fischeri. Enhanced dioxin-like activity was measured in seven water and ten sediment samples using a reporter gene assay with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and most water extracts showed mutagenic potential in the Ames fluctuation assay (Salmonella typhimurium strains YG1041 and YG1042), while most sediment extracts were not mutagenic. Increased larval mortality of Chironomus riparius occurred in five water-sediment systems built from pond samples, correlating positively with in vitro water toxicity and with concentrations of benzothiazole derivatives measured by LC-HRMS, likely originating from EPDM rubber pond liners. Substance composition differed significantly between house and allotment gardens, with higher concentrations measured in allotment ponds. The study concludes that chemical pollution in private urban gardens may have been underestimated to date, and that pond toxicity can severely affect insect populations, warranting further study.
Environmental trade-offsBiodiversityPollinatorsCommunityFood access interventions in American Indian and Alaska Native communities: A scoping review
2025Danya Carroll, Lynn Mad Plume, Nicole Redvers · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This scoping review maps the existing literature on food access in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the United States onto the Social Ecological Model (SEM). A systematic search of PubMed, CINAHL, SocIndex, Academic Search Premier, ERIC and Google Scholar covered publications from 1988 to 2023, followed by deductive content analysis through the SEM lens using qualitative software; 14 articles met the inclusion criteria. Interventions most frequently targeted the "intrapersonal" and "community" SEM levels, while the "institutional" and "public policy" levels were least targeted, with intervention formats including support for community and school gardens, seed provision, traditional foods at school, family and community events, and meal provision. The review found that valuable research has been conducted on AI/AN food access interventions, many spanning multiple SEM levels, and it points to the importance of leveraging strengths such as culturally aligned programs and traditional foods, calling for further collaboration between AI/AN communities and researchers to develop more informed, multi-level interventions.
CommunityPolicyWelfareTalk With Me Outside: Therapists' Experiences of the Therapeutic Relationship in Natural Outdoor Settings
2025Elaine Moore, Faisal Mahmood · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · Global
This qualitative study explores therapists' experiences of the therapeutic relationship when therapy is conducted in natural public spaces such as parks, footpaths and community gardens. Six therapists took part in one-to-one semi-structured interviews analyzed thematically. Therapists described a more equalized relationship, with both therapist and client exposed to the unpredictability of the environment, creating a dynamic interplay in which collaboration to overcome unexpected situations produced a natural vulnerability; relational depth became more apparent, and therapists were perceived as fallible outdoors as opposed to infallible indoors. Despite potential risks, the unboundaried natural environment offered a relational therapeutic depth and intimacy carrying an embedded equality that participants experienced as enriching and transformative. The findings suggest nature-based therapy enhances and equalizes the therapeutic relationship while supporting the well-being of both therapist and client, and the study recommends embedding outdoor therapy interventions within blended approaches to talking therapies and integrating nature-based practices into core counselling and psychotherapy training programs.
CommunityFactors influencing urban farmers’ intention to adapt to climate change in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a protection motivation theory
2025Endalkachew Getu, Bereket Ayenew, Kanchan Singh, Mitiku Adisu Worku · Frontiers in Climate · Ethiopia
A random-sample survey of 364 urban farmers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, grounded in protection motivation theory (PMT), used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze relationships among nine constructs. Selecting new crop varieties, water management practices, adjusting sowing dates and planting drought-resistant crops were identified as the main adaptation practices. Perception of climate change indicators, perceived effects, incentives, subjective norms, adaptation efficacy and self-efficacy positively and significantly influenced farmers' intention to adapt, whereas farmers exposed to maladaptive behaviors showed lower intention to adapt. The survey recommended strengthening local institutions, farmer training, climate information dissemination such as early warning systems, access to extension services, and access to finance.
Climate changePolicyBest Practices and Ways Forward for Cities to Become Circular and Liveable
2025Robert C. Brears · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Global
This book chapter outlines best practices and strategies for cities transitioning toward becoming circular and liveable. It covers applying circular economy principles across urban sectors including waste management, energy efficiency, transportation and urban agriculture, using a 5R approach — reduce, reuse, recycle, restore and recover. It presents strategies such as energy-efficient financing for building retrofits, grant programmes for water reuse, and e-waste collection and disposal systems, and discusses public participation and stakeholder collaboration through a Quadruple Helix model involving academia, industry, government and civil society. Case studies from Amsterdam, Paris and Copenhagen illustrate circular business models and governance frameworks, and the chapter sets out a roadmap centered on education, policy innovation and community engagement.
CommunityPolicyOrganic cycleImpact of E-Nurseries on Urban Gardening and Home Planting
2025Sanchi Gour, Hemant Chikale, Bhagyashree Kumbhare, Yamini B. Laxane · Indian Journal of Computer Science and Technology · India
This paper examines the impact of e-nurseries — online platforms selling plants and gardening supplies — on urban gardening and home planting in India. It describes e-nurseries as delivering plants ranging from native to exotic species directly to consumers online, offering compact plant varieties and indoor gardening advice suited to limited urban space and time, and incorporating technologies such as augmented reality for plant visualization and AI-based personalized plant care recommendations. No empirical data or survey results are presented.
CommunityDigital agricultureUpaya Peningkatan Hasil Belajar Materi Pertanian Perkotaan (Urban Farming) melalui Model Pembelajaran Problem Based Learning (PBL) pada Peserta Didik Kelas X ATPH 3 SMKN 1 Gondang Kabupaten Nganjuk Provinsi Jawa Timur
2025Qiurita Fortuna, Marmi Marmi, Achmadi Achmadi · Pubmedia Jurnal Penelitian Tindakan Kelas Indonesia · Indonesia
An action research study conducted with students in the Food Crops and Horticultural Agribusiness (ATPH) program, grade 10, at SMKN 1 Gondang vocational high school in Nganjuk Regency, East Java, Indonesia, applied problem-based learning (PBL) to teaching urban farming across three cycles — a pre-cycle using discovery learning, then two cycles of PBL — assessing cognitive, affective and psychomotor outcomes. Introducing PBL increased the proportion of students exceeding the minimum mastery criterion (KKM) by 53% of the class total, raised the class average by 12%, and increased learning motivation as reflected in a rise in students actively engaged in the affective and psychomotor components measured.
Food educationCommunityNurturing Heritage in Community Gardens
2025Bethaney Turner · · Australia
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in community gardens in Canberra, Australia, this chapter examines how community gardens support future-focused, more-than-human heritage making, preservation and transmission. It shows that everyday, food-based informal economies of participation are capable of nourishing soil, gardeners' well-being, and broader human and non-human communities, and it proposes a concept termed ecological belonging that attunes gardeners to multispecies relations extending beyond the temporal and spatial boundaries of contemporary gardening sites.
CommunityBiodiversity沖永良部島の小学校校庭に生育する維管束植物
2025Motohiro Kawanishi · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
A survey of the flora growing in the gardens of seven elementary schools on Okinoerabujima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, catalogued the vascular plants present as basic reference material for educational use. A total of 480 vascular plant species were recorded, of which 211 were native to Okinoerabujima Island, 100 were exotic, and 157 were cultivated. The school gardens hosted a large number of plants characterized by a high proportion of native species, including rare plants such as endangered herbaceous species. The survey sites were found to have high potential for use in teaching about the island's nature.
Food educationBiodiversityCommunityAnalisis Kelayakan Ekonomi Pertanian Perkotaan (Urban Farming) Pada Kelompok Tani Yurga Farm Di Kota Surabaya
2025Elmira Dhiva Avivah, Teguh Soedarto, Wahyu Santoso · JPEK (Jurnal Pendidikan Ekonomi dan Kewirausahaan) · Indonesia (Surabaya)
This study assessed the economic feasibility of Yurga Farm, a farmer group participating in Surabaya City's urban farming program in East Java, Indonesia, which cultivates horticultural vegetables — including pakcoy, romaine, siomak, lettuce, kale, samhong and caisim — on narrow but productive urban land. Primary data on production costs, revenue and income were collected through in-depth interviews. All commodities showed an R/C ratio above 1, with break-even-point (BEP) production levels below actual production and BEP prices below selling prices, indicating the farming business is profitable and has potential for sustainable development.
EconomicsCommunityPeri-urban agriculture