Research & reports

İrem YURDAY, Ceren Yağcı, Fatih İŞCAN · Türkiye Arazi Yönetimi Dergisi · Turkey

This study explains the definitions, contributions, and benefits of urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture. It notes that there is no clear policy framework for urban and peri-urban agriculture in Turkey, although urban interfaces are subject to planners and policymakers. The transformation of villages in big cities into communities under Law No. 6360 is presented from a utilitarian perspective. Urban agriculture has been adopted as a profitable production method in urban and peri-urban areas, and suggestions for its development in Turkey are provided.

Joanna Wiśniewska-Paluszak, Grzegorz Paluszak · Agriculture · Poland

This study investigated how nine urban and peri-urban farms (UPFs) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, formed business relationships in food networks, surveying managers and owners in 2019 and 2020. The research identified UPF business relationships and key features of their networks, leading to the development of a conceptual relational UPF model. This model indicates that diversification of activities, competitiveness of resources, and formality of organizational structures form the basis of farm businesses, while integration of activities, sharing of resources, and collaboration among actors form the basis of relationships.

Paul D. Jensen, Caroline Orfila · Food Security · United Kingdom

This case study used publicly available data to spatially analyze the urban food system of Leeds, UK, assessing its food security and resilience. The study found that while Leeds has a significant food production and provision system, it is not food secure in terms of providing sufficient energy or macronutrients, nor does it function equitably for all residents. Improving the system, including through urban farming, would require high investment, multi-sector cooperation, and strong governance.

Caitlin K. Kirby, Kathrin Specht, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Jason K. Hawes, Nevin Cohen, Silvio Caputo, Rositsa T. Ilieva, Agnès Lelièvre, Lidia Poniży, Victoria Schoen, Chris Blythe · Landscape and Urban Planning · Europe; United States

This study quantitatively assessed motivations and social impacts across different urban agriculture types using survey data from 74 sites in Europe and the US. It identified four scales: general wellbeing, nutritional health, economic interests, and socialization motivations. Multivariate analysis revealed significant differences in motivations and reported impacts across urban agriculture types. Participants with stronger economic interests, socialization motivations, or who were plot owners/operators reported greater general wellbeing impacts.

Ágnes Gagyi, Csaba Jelinek, Zsuzsanna Pósfai, András Vígvári · · Europe

This chapter examines the 2000s housing financialization wave in Hungary, analysing financial over-inclusion and exclusion -- alternating dynamics of reaping gains and externalizing costs. It shows that "intermediate" rural-urban transitional zones are prime areas for high-risk mortgage lending while also containing spaces excluded from institutionalized housing finance, using as its case study an allotment garden where households combine formal jobs and mortgage repayment with informal dwelling to reduce housing costs, arguing that such informal reproductive solutions function as a resource for capital accumulation through inclusion and exclusion.

Melanie Jans-Singh, Rebecca Ward, Ruchi Choudhary · Journal of Building Performance Simulation · United Kingdom

A study addressing the lack of quantification of combined building-integrated greenhouse performance developed a building energy simulation (BES) of an archetype school building in EnergyPlus, co-simulated with a validated greenhouse energy simulator (GES), for school buildings in London, UK. Different greenhouse-building coupling configurations were evaluated via sensitivity analysis and a parametric study to estimate potential crop growth, heat recovery, and reduction in ventilation demand. A 250 m2 greenhouse on the top floor of the school could produce 6 t of lettuce with half the energy demand of an equivalent standalone greenhouse. Trade-offs among increased humidity, yields, and energy efficiency show that modeling is needed to ensure optimal designs.

Sovová L., Veen E.J. · Sustainability (MDPI), 12(12):5134 · Europe

A comparative study of food self-provisioning in allotment gardens in the Netherlands and Czechia, drawing on social practice theory. It argues self-provisioning is neither merely a poverty response nor a trend, holding significant potential for food provisioning that can be supported within alternative food networks and urban sustainability frameworks.

Lobillo-Eguíbar J., Fernández-Cabanás V.M., Bermejo L.A., Pérez-Urrestarazu L. · Agronomy · Spain

Two small-scale aquaponic systems, self-built from cheap and easy-to-obtain materials based on FAO models, were monitored for a year to assess their economic sustainability for self-production.

Yacaman Ochoa C., Mataran Ruiz A., Mata Olmo R., Macias Figueroa A., Torres Rodriguez A. · Land · Andalucia, Spain

Two Andalusian case studies analysing how peri-urban organic agriculture and short food supply chains strengthen city/region food systems by shortening the chain and reducing handling stages and spoilage.

Christine Aubry, Anne Cécile Daniel, Baptiste Grard, Agnès Lelièvre, Nathalie Frascaria‐Lacoste, Claire Chenu · · France

Urban micro-farms in France are intermediate forms between community gardens and recognized vegetable farms, limited in number and too heterogeneous for a unique typology. This study developed an original reading grid, inspired by agricultural sustainability assessment tools, to understand their functioning. The 18-month participatory research included numerous producer surveys, follow-ups, and field data collection on production, costs, revenue, and working time.

Remedios Larrubia Vargas, Juan José Natera Rivas, David Carruana-Herrera · Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles · Spain

This research investigated urban gardens in the city of Málaga as a strategy for urban transition towards sustainability. It identified 19 urban gardens promoted by both public and private entities and analyzed them based on interviews with their promoters regarding their operation, users' socioeconomic characteristics, management, motivations, and existing typology. The results highlight the diversity of projects and the benefits they provide for users' personal development, family economy, and the urban environment.

Cristina Grasseni · · Italy, United States (Massachusetts)

This chapter compares and contrasts context-specific notions and practices of 'solidarity' within collaborative networks organizing alternative food procurement in Lombardy, Italy, and Massachusetts, USA, based on unpublished ethnography from 2011-2014. It juxtaposes Italian Solidarity Purchase Groups with the US solidarity economy network in the context of the Boston local food movement and Massachusetts community-supported agriculture. The chapter demonstrates how the meaning of solidarity in collective food procurement is context-bound.

Paola Clerino, Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre · Sustainability · France

This study used a participatory approach with French urban agriculture stakeholders to identify sustainability objectives and 21 criteria for professional intra-urban farms. Six objectives were established, and agro-environmental and socio-territorial criteria were deemed more important than economic ones, with food production not being mentioned. A critical finding was that decision-makers focused more on projects' external sustainability and urban farmers' agricultural background, suggesting a reliance on farmers for internal sustainability rather than direct assessment.

Sarah Kumnig, Marit Rosol · · Europe

This chapter discusses two strategies for commoning land access in Europe, challenging private property and profit maximization amidst rising land prices since 2008. It presents two case studies: German cooperatives purchasing agricultural land for organic farmers, and the urban agriculture collective SoliLa squatting land in Vienna, Austria. Both cases aim to organize agriculture and food production collectively, differing in their engagement with formal markets and state but sharing the goal of enabling and preserving land access.

Sara Giovansana, Giacomo Zanolin · Geography Notebooks · Germany (Berlin)

This study examines urban creativity in Berlin, focusing on urban gardens at Tempelhofer Feld and Prinzessinnengärten. Based on field research, it reflects on the potential of creative class initiatives in relation to gentrification. The work aims to outline the Berlin green experience as a sign of urban change.

Ulrich Häpke · sub\urban zeitschrift für kritische stadtforschung · Germany (Ruhrgebiet)

While statistical data demonstrates the significance of urban agriculture in German cities and metropolitan areas, urban agriculture faces the problem of constant land loss despite its proximity to consumers. The example of the Ruhrgebiet highlights challenges such as land loss and high proportions of leased land, indicating governance issues faced by urban agriculture.

Naomi Shimpo, Naotaka Ota · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Germany (Berlin)

This study clarified how community gardens in Berlin, Germany, are supported under the Social City Programme for improving local living environments. Interview surveys with relevant stakeholders revealed that the program secured coordinating companies or organizations and subsidized initial costs for new community gardens. For existing community gardens, it subsidized funds usable for developmental activities.

Vincenzo Rusciano, Gennaro Civero, Debora Scarpato · Sustainability · Italy (Naples)

An empirical analysis based on structured interviews was conducted in the Naples area of Italy with a sample of 150 gardeners to investigate the link between community gardens and social ecological innovation. Variance and correlation analysis explored the extent to which social and environmental dimensions are linked to community gardens. Two attributes of community gardens, namely urbanization effects mitigation and wellness and community, were identified as having the ability to influence other community garden attributes.

Tezcan Mert-Cakal, Mara Miele · Agriculture and Human Values · United Kingdom (Wales)

This article examines Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects in Wales as social innovation, exploring their emergence, innovative role, and transformative potential. Based on qualitative data from four different CSA case studies in Wales, the research showed that Welsh CSA cases play distinctive roles in the social economy, satisfying needs for ecologically sound and ethically produced food and empowering individuals at a micro level. However, the paper argues that for CSA initiatives to become 'workable utopias', they need to overcome barriers preventing replication, participation in macro-level policies, and scaling up, particularly concerning economic sustainability and resilience on a small scale.

Irene Antoni-Komar, Christine Lenz · · Germany

This chapter discusses community building in sustainable food initiatives in Germany. Empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and action research with 27 practitioners from local food enterprises and initiatives, while quantitative data was gathered from surveys of members and customers. Findings indicate how participation in transformative enterprises is based on new forms of creative doing and collaboration, along with associated barriers and opportunities.

Marie Diekmann · Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung · Germany

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an innovative form of direct cooperation where farmers and consumers share costs, products, responsibilities, and risks. A research project conducted in Germany from 2015 to 2018 aimed to contribute to the limited knowledge on CSA as an alternative niche strategy for agricultural businesses. This paper presents the central results of that project.

Andrea Baier, Christa Müller · · Germany

This chapter discusses the results of semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted in 2016 with activists in three urban community gardens in Bremen, Cologne, and Kassel, Germany. The study focused on the relationship between urban projects and municipal administrations. It showed that initiatives taken by grassroots activists to form collaborations with administrative actors are limited, though the traditional role of citizens can be extended in new local partnerships.

Jeroen Schütt, Bas Amelung · · Europe

This research, conducted by the Science Shop of Wageningen University and Research, estimated the monetary value of ecosystem services in the Lutkemeerpolder, Amsterdam, which is slated for conversion into a business park. The study identified food production, air purification, recreation, and the effect of greenery on housing prices as key services, valuing them at 1.5 to 8.6 million euros per year. These ecosystem service values were not considered in the original decision-making twenty years ago, leading to a recommendation to reconsider the development plan.

Luca Sára Bródy, Mandy de Wilde · Local Environment · Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Based on a qualitative study of 19 community gardening projects in Amsterdam, this research argues that community gardens function as “controlled space.” Various institutional governance actors, including local government, welfare organizations, green NGOs, and housing associations, exert varied levels of influence and control over the gardens. These relations both impair and enable the civic participation of gardeners, the inclusive potential of gardens, and an alternative, local food provision and distribution.

Sam Ramsden · Voluntary Sector Review · United Kingdom

This article explored an externally funded charity-led project in a deprived area of the UK, implementing urban agriculture, community gardening, and household energy activities. The project successfully engaged marginalized people, who strongly voiced outcomes including reduced isolation, improved mental health, and increased resilience and self-reliance. Environmental outcomes were less tangible but included improvements to the local environment and reduced energy usage. However, after the funding finished, marginalized participants were vulnerable to outcomes not being sustained in the long term.