Research & reports

Leonoura Katarina Santos, Cláudio José Bertazzo · · Brazil (Catalão)

This paper describes the Ecological Horticulture Program implemented by NEPEA at the Goias State Military Police College in Catalão, Brazil, aiming to promote socio-environmental education among elementary school students. The program used theoretical-practical classes and workshops to raise awareness about environmental sustainability, waste management, and organic production. Outcomes included composting processes, a school garden with 12 beds for various crops (e.g., lettuce, carrots), a nursery, and the creation of selective collection containers and awareness posters.

Lara Cristine Gomes Ferreira, Stéfanny da Cruz Nóbrega · Revista GeoNordeste · Brazil (Goiânia)

This study explores agroecological urban agriculture in the Greater Goiânia region of Brazil, aiming to qualify the debate on its current relevance, understand the role of socio-biodiversity and food sovereignty, and foster dialogue through socio-environmental education. The methodology included a theoretical-bibliographical review, secondary data collection, and action research at a public school in Goiânia. The findings suggest that agroecological urban agriculture is an alternative to reduce the negative effects of agribusiness and minimize socio-environmental problems, highlighting the importance of family farming and education for food sovereignty and social equality.

Jennifer Engels, Sheree J. Watson, Henrietta Dulai, Kimberly Burnett, Christopher A. Wada, ‘Ano‘ilani Aga, Nathan DeMaagd, J. J. McHugh, Barbara Sumida, Leah L. Bremer · PLoS ONE · United States (O‘ahu)

A researcher-farmer collaboration on O‘ahu's Sumida watercress farm conducted a 25-year trend analysis and a year of intensive spring water sampling. Negative correlations were found between historical crop yields and increases in the Oceanic Niño Index, temperature thresholds, and pest outbreaks. Despite urbanization, on-farm water quality was very high, and microbial analyses suggested the farm provides nutrient retention services to downstream systems. The study demonstrates that challenges facing urban agricultural systems shift over time.

Sheriden M. Hansen, JayDee Gunnell, Anthony Whaley, Xin Dai, Cole Harding, Brent Black · Horticulturae · United States

This study in the U.S. Intermountain West assessed eight tree species for their suitability as windbreaks for urban farms, focusing on initial establishment and use at the urban–agriculture interface. Standard poplar and 'Theves' columnar poplar were most effective for rapid establishment. However, species with moderate growth rates like aspen, juniper, and hackberry may offer lower long-term maintenance costs for the region's challenging environmental conditions.

Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú (Senamhi) · Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú (Senamhi) · Peru

Peru's national meteorological and hydrological service (Senamhi) reported on 1 April 2020 that moderate rain fell over Lima the previous night. The rain began around 6:30 p.m. and lasted about 30 minutes, reaching up to 2mm in La Molina and Santa Anita and up to 3mm in Chosica and Santa Eulalia. Senamhi noted that Lima receives less than 15mm of rain per year, with winter (June-August) garúa drizzle consisting of very fine droplets over several hours, unlike summer rain driven by Andean humidity transport.

Mysha Clarke, Melissa Davidson, Monika Egerer, Elsa C. Anderson, Nakisha Fouch · People Place and Policy Online · United States

This paper argues that community gardens should be a prioritized element of green infrastructure to improve cities' adaptation to climate change. Community gardens can reduce urban heat islands, provide ecosystem services, and increase stormwater retention. However, a qualitative analysis of 18 policy documents for Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City, U.S.A., found that green infrastructure for climate change adaptation prioritizes rain gardens, bioswales, and green roofs, but seldom acknowledges the role of community gardens.

Gaston E. Small, Paliza Shrestha, Geneviève S. Metson, Katherine Polsky, Ivan Jimenez, Adam D. Kay · Environmental Research Communications · United States

Survey data from 142 gardeners and urban farmers in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, USA, characterized phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) inputs and harvest, and measured soil P concentrations at a subset of sites. Median application rates were 300 kg P/ha and 1400 kg N/ha, with low nutrient use efficiencies (2.5% for P, 5.0% for N). Garden soils had a median Bray P value of 80 ppm, far exceeding recommended levels, indicating a buildup and potential loss of P and N. Urban gardens, though only 0.1% of land area, constitute one of the largest inputs of P to the watershed.

Roland Ebel · HortTechnology · Mexico

This paper introduced the chinampa system, an urban farming model developed by the Aztecs in the Lake Xochimilco region of Mexico City. Chinampas are raised fields on small artificial islands in freshwater lakes, characterized by capillary irrigation and soil fertility generated from aquatic components. This system provides ecosystem services such as greenhouse gas sequestration and biodiversity diversification, and offers a potential solution for food supply and ecosystem services in modern cities.

Sally Brown, Ned Beecher · Compost Science & Utilization · United States

This study modeled the carbon benefits and costs of biosolids compost use in King County, Washington. Soil carbon sequestration was highest for use on disturbed soils, such as new housing developments, neglected urban soils, or highway right-of-ways (–1.1 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost), and lowest for use in well-tended yards or other highly maintained landscapes (–0.036 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost). Compost use for tree growth, calculated over a 30-year period, added above-ground sequestration benefits ranging from –1.53 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost for a mature tree grown on a healthy soil to –4.58 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost for a newly planted tree grown on a disturbed site. Assuming a 20 km haul distance, transport costs ranged from 0.005 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost for delivery in a 5 Mg truck to 0.09 Mg CO2eq per Mg compost for pick up in a personal vehicle.

Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika S. Svendsen, Renae Reynolds, Victoria Marshall · Social & Cultural Geography · United States (Rockaway, NY)

This study used Actor Network Theory to explore the material and social dynamics of a coastal community garden on public housing grounds in Rockaway, NY, after Hurricane Sandy. Three assemblages with different governance arrangements—tidal shore, garden plots, and treed lawn—were identified. However, "unruly" actors and actants, including people, saltwater, poison ivy, dogs, and trash, were found to spark controversy and resist governing.

Valéria . Calipo, Tassiane Boreli Pinato, Sartori Aparecida Marcia, Zambone Maria Sabatine Alessandra, Santi Eduardo Santi Carlos · · Brazil (Diadema)

This work proposes the "Community Garden: New Paths and Knowledge" project, aiming to involve university students in paid internships and volunteer work at the Diadema Municipal Government and Methodist University of São Paulo. The project seeks to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the region and reduce vulnerable communities. Students from various courses will visit community gardens weekly, with some also participating in daily paid internships.

Emily N. Ander · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · United States (Orange and Durham counties)

This 2019 paper from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explores the concept of urban agriculture, defining it as an industry located within or on the fringe of urban areas that grows, raises, processes, and distributes food and non-food products. It notes that community gardening is the most well-known and common form of urban agriculture in the United States. The paper aims to define the research question and identify key principles for the success of urban agriculture, particularly in the context of community gardening.

Paucar Guerrero, Laura Muñoz Mata, P.B. Madrigal, J.J.M. Criollo · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study proposes using pop-up farms with Mel Bartholomew's system for cultivating local vegetables in Mexico City, utilizing the subtropical highland climate and a rainwater harvesting system. Preliminary results indicate that a pop-up farm can supply a significant fraction of the average yearly family consumption for these vegetables. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that pop-up farms are a viable strategy for providing high-quality food at low costs, contributing to improved health and economic conditions in urban environments.

THAYZA DE OLIVEIRA BATITUCCI, Erika Cortines, Fábio Souto Almeida, Ângela Alves de Almeida · Ambiente & sociedade · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This study analyzed the interactions of agricultural activities and the urban ecosystem through a literature review and a case study of an Urban Agriculture program in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It found that urban agriculture provides considerable ecosystem services, generates income, increases biodiversity conservation, and fosters social inclusion. The research concludes that urban agriculture functions as a mechanism for achieving equilibrium among the components of the urban ecosystem.

Nikhil Villani, Jack Stambaugh · ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst (University of Massachusetts Amherst) · United States

The UMass Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) at the Agricultural Learning Center (ALC) involves Stockbridge School of Agriculture students and faculty researching and practicing regenerative food production. Initiated in Spring 2018, students designed and installed a chestnut-sheep silvopasture on a two-acre site. The first season involved starting a chestnut nursery, planting chestnuts, and rotationally grazing six sheep between rows.

Nazli Uludere Aragon, Michelle Stuhlmacher, Jordan P. Smith, Nicholas Clinton, Matei Georgescu · Environmental Research Letters · United States (Phoenix)

This city-scale study analyzed how urban agriculture (UA) could contribute to Phoenix's 2050 Sustainability Goals, eliminating food deserts, providing green open space, and reducing building energy use and CO2 emissions, for the fifth-largest US city by population. Examining three UA deployment surfaces (undeveloped vacant lots, flat rooftops, building facades), it found existing building stock provides 71% of available UA space in the study area; estimated total UA food supply is 183,000 tons per year, enough to provide local produce in all existing Phoenix food deserts and meet 90% of current annual fresh-produce consumption based on national per-capita patterns. UA would also add green open space, reducing by 60% the number of block groups underserved by public parks, and rooftop UA deployment could reduce building energy use and potentially displace more than 50,000 tons of CO2 per year.

Jennifer M. Kreslake · Health Equity · United States

An online survey of 605 residents in California (Los Angeles/Orange), Florida (Miami-Dade/Broward), and Arizona (Maricopa) counties, conducted in July 2018, used multivariable ordered logistic regression to test whether perceived importance of local climate change adaptation and mitigation measures differed by social and medical factors, controlling for age, political party, and county. Lower income was associated with higher perceived importance of improved emergency alerts, government-subsidized air conditioners and energy-efficient appliances, strengthening buildings against extreme weather, greenhouse gas regulation, "cooling" urban planning technologies, and expanding community gardens and local agriculture. Black respondents rated evacuation services for those with financial barriers, subsidized appliance costs, and government communication about climate impacts as significantly more important than non-Black, non-Hispanic respondents, while Hispanic respondents rated several measures, including improved emergency alerts, as significantly more important than non-Hispanic respondents.

Vergara, S.E., Silver, W.L. · Environmental Research Letters · United States

A study measuring greenhouse gas emission patterns and emission factors from windrow composting of organic waste. The methane emission factor was 1.7 ± 0.32 g CH4/kg wet feedstock, CO2 was 19 ± 3.7 g CO2/kg, and nitrous oxide was below instrument detection limits. Life-cycle emissions, accounting for avoided emissions and carbon sequestration, were negative at −690 g CO2-e/kg, indicating a net mitigation benefit.

Duren, R.M., et al. · Nature · United States

Using an airborne imaging spectrometer to survey more than 272,000 infrastructure elements, this study measured methane point-source emissions across California. Net methane point-source emissions were estimated at 0.618 teragrams per year (95% CI 0.523-0.725), equivalent to 34-46% of the state's total methane inventory. Ten percent of point sources contributed roughly 60% of point-source emissions, with landfills accounting for 41% of point-source emissions, dairies 26%, and oil and gas 26%.

NYC Department of Buildings · NYC Department of Buildings · United States

Per an NYC Department of Buildings service notice, beginning November 15, 2019, new buildings and buildings undergoing a complete roof deck or assembly replacement must provide a sustainable roofing zone covering 100% of the roof. That zone must include a solar photovoltaic system generating at least 4kW, a green roof system, or a combination of both.

Andreia Gerbaudo Gimenez, Cleidivaldo Siqueira Pereira, Gislania Nobres da Silva, Heloísa Alves Pereira, Hérica Ribeiro Fabro · · Brazil

This work proposal focuses on school gardens as a means to develop environmental education and food themes, connecting theoretical and practical concepts to aid interdisciplinary teaching and learning. It aims to foster students who value agricultural principles, noting advances in students' methodological conception of Field Education despite regional challenges from the agro-industrial sector.

Jennifer White · Sustainability The Journal of Record · United States

The Sustainable Learning Initiative at Franklin Falls is a long-term partnership between Colby-Sawyer College and PermaCityLife in Franklin, New Hampshire. To date, 265 students have participated, engaging in experiential learning to develop sustainable solutions for community needs. Students have assisted with projects including permaculture/edible landscaping, contributing to a grassroots effort to revitalize the community.

Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Stacy M. Philpott · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States (California)

This citizen science study in the California Central Coast examined water use, vegetation, and soil management in urban gardens. Water use varied by gardener and was positively related to mulching and crop cover. Gardeners expressing high concern for drought and water conservation paradoxically tended to use more water, while those in gardens with more rules used less.

Giulia Giacchè, Wania Rezende Silva · ARCHIVIO DI STUDI URBANI E REGIONALI · Brazil (São Paulo)

This article investigates the role of urban agriculture (UA) in reconfiguring urban spaces and promoting sustainable cities. A survey conducted in two urban gardens in São Paulo, Brazil, found that UA's individual and collective practices contribute to sustainable urban development by reducing social, economic, and environmental inequalities.

Silverio Hernández Moreno, José Antonio Hernández Moreno, Bianca G. Alcaraz Vargas · Cuadernos de Vivienda y Urbanismo · Mexico

This article proposes an urban cluster for planning low-carbon cities in Mexico, drawing on environmental design models for buildings and smart city planning strategies integrating urban and rural land uses. It suggests allocating areas for urban agriculture and alternative energy generation, in addition to housing, commerce, and green spaces. The cluster design is concluded to function as an urban design pattern, useful for smart city planning, and a reference point for planning "ruracities."