Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
11393 results(70 / 456)
Pemberdayaan Warga Perumahan Kosagrha RW 04 Kelurahan Medokan Ayu-Rungkut Surabaya Melalui Pemanfaatan Lahan Tidur Menjadi Kebun Produktif Berbasis Urban Farming
2025Djarwatiningsih Pongki Soedjarwo, Hadi Suhardjono, Agus Sulistyono, Yonny Koentjoro, Makhziah · Jurnal Aplikasi Sains dan Teknologi Agrisevika · Indonesia (Surabaya)
A community-engagement project in the Kosagrha housing complex, RW 04, Medokan Ayu-Rungkut ward, Surabaya, Indonesia, that converted neglected public/social land (fasum/fasos), previously overgrown with scrub, into productive urban farming plots. The Participatory Action with Training and Demonstration (PAW-TD) method involved residents in every stage — site identification, theoretical and practical training, and collaborative demonstration-plot setup. Two idle land sites were successfully transformed into productive gardens, with notable capacity gains for the "Kosagrha Lestari" farmer group in cultivation technique, composting, and pest control. Reported outcomes include strengthened household food security, economic value from savings and group treasury funds generated by harvest surpluses, and improved social cohesion and neighborhood aesthetics.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Farming for Food Security and Sustainability in Nigerian Cities
2025Mayowa R. Opeagbe, MPH, B.Tech, B.Tech Feranmi R. Olawoore, B.Tech Stephen O Ayankoso · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Nigeria
A mixed-methods study combining an extensive literature review with a structured survey of 120 respondents across major Nigerian urban areas, assessing demographic factors, farming practices, the effects of urban agriculture (UA) on food security and the environment, and the challenges limiting its practice. 58.3% of respondents practiced urban farming, primarily through container and backyard gardening. About 62.5% reported increased access to fresh produce. The most cited environmental advantages were reduced waste (54.2%) and improved air quality. Limiting factors included limited space (50.0%), expensive inputs (45.8%), inadequate access to water (37.5%), and low levels of institutional support. 83.3% of respondents were willing to see UA incorporated into urban planning, and 75.0% favored UA in school programs. The paper describes UA in Nigeria as partially unexploited due to weak policy attention and a lack of infrastructural base, and recommends that policymakers integrate UA into urbanization, land and resource access, and institutional and educational support.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareCommunityKEMANDIRIAN EKONOMI IKATAN KELUARGA BESAR ISTRI (IKBI) PEKERJA PERKEBUNAN MELALUI PELATIHAN STRATEGI MARKETING URBAN FARMING (Studi Pada IKBI PTPN I Regional 5 Kebun Kalisanen Kotta Blater)
2025Irmadatus Sholekhah, Dwi Herlindawati, Marjono Marjono, Dibyo Waskito Guntoro · Kumawula Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia
A community-service report on a training program in urban farming marketing strategy for the Wife's Extended Family Association (IKBI) at PTPN I Regional 5, Kebun Kalisanen Kotta Blater, Jember Regency, Indonesia. A preliminary study found that urban farming adopted by the plantation had positively affected household food availability, but surplus fruit and vegetable harvests were not being fully utilized — some were merely shared with neighbors or relatives, while the rest were left to rot and go to waste. The training program, targeting 20 IKBI participants, covered urban farming product processing, branding socialization, and marketing strategy development assistance. Results showed increased understanding and knowledge of urban farming practices — including organic vegetables, hydroponics, horticulture, and potted plants — and improved marketing skills, particularly in digital marketing.
EconomicsCommunityWelfareSustainable urban agriculture: Practices and future strategies for resilient cities
2025Bharti Gautam, Neha Negi, J. Mohan, Babita Bharti, Amit Kumar, Ridhima Arya · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research · Global
A review paper surveying sustainable urban agriculture and gardening practices against a backdrop of rapid urbanization linked to climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. It covers composting, rainwater harvesting, rooftop gardening, hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical farming, and discusses the role of integrated pest management, smart irrigation systems, and urban agroforestry. The review states that integrating nature-based solutions — urban farms, vertical gardens, and green roofs — into the urban landscape can lessen environmental problems such as poor air quality, flooding, and the urban heat island effect, and that urban horticulture plays an important role in food security, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability.
CommunityCompostClimate changeFood educationBiodiversityINOVASI PERTANIAN MODERN RAMAH LINGKUNGAN UNTUK MENDUKUNG KETAHANAN PANGAN LOKAL DI BIJAI GREEN HIDROPONIK
2025Mei Linda Sipayung, Mariana Eva Yanti · Journal Inovasi Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia
A qualitative descriptive study of the Binjai Green Hidroponik (hydroponic) system in the Binjai region of Indonesia, combining a literature review, field observation, and interviews with local hydroponic practitioners to examine its concept, advantages, and application. Hydroponics is described as a soil-free cultivation method using a mineral nutrient solution adjusted to plant needs, positioned as a solution for raising agricultural productivity amid limited fertile land and rising food demand. The study found that the hydroponic system can raise water-use efficiency by up to 80%, speed up vegetable harvest time, and produce more hygienic, higher-quality products. Implementation of Binjai Green Hidroponik is described as having potential to drive local economic growth through urban-farming-based agribusiness.
CommunityEconomicsManajemen Penanaman Tanaman Obat guna Meningkatkan Kesehatan Masyarakat pada Kebun Berdaya Kelurahan Tonja
2025I Wayan Dikse Pancane, Maulana Ari Danuarta, Aan Oka Suryadinatha, Ni Ketut Anjani, Ni Ketut Arniti · Jurnal Abdi Masyarakat Indonesia · Indonesia
A community-service report on cultivating family medicinal plants (TOGA) to improve public health at "Kebun Berdaya" (empowerment garden) in Tonja Ward, North Denpasar, Indonesia, carried out from January 13 to February 28, 2025. Following field observation, situation analysis, and work-program development, TOGA planting was carried out with the Women Farmers Group (KWT) of Tonja Ward as the main partner. The goals were to raise community awareness of TOGA's benefits and to develop Kebun Berdaya as a center for empowerment and greening. The results showed increased community understanding and participation in using TOGA. Constraints identified included limited land and insufficient knowledge about plant types and processing. A continuation program is proposed, involving intensive training and mentoring to maximize TOGA's health and economic benefits.
HealthCommunityWelfarepercepção de professores sobre o papel de uma horta escolar e da natureza
2025Hellen Chrystianne Lucio Barros, Danielle Fernandes de Araújo Oliveira, Iris Alves Feitoza Albuquerque · Ambiente & Educação · Brazil
A study, based on interviews with six teachers at a state school in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, that has a community school garden project among its open spaces, examining possible relationships between green environments at school and the promotion of learning, well-being, and environmental care. The analysis found that teachers perceive the school garden as a pedagogical resource that facilitates learning, promotes well-being associated with students' mental health, and allows for discussion of environmental care and healthy eating, viewing it as a potential resource for learning in the field of socio-environmental education.
Food educationHealthCommunityGood Practices for Food Systems Transformation: A Case from Nepal
2025Bal Krishna Joshi · Genetics Plant Breeding and Seed Science · Global
A paper documenting good practices for food systems transformation using a ROSE (review, observation, survey, and experience) approach, framing the food system as encompassing six key components: crops, livestock, agro-insects, agro-microbes, forages, and aquatic agricultural genetic resources (AGRs). It notes that efforts to increase yield have relied on developing and expanding mono genotypes — single uniform genotypes across large areas — of a few crops such as rice, wheat, and maize with chemical inputs, but that as agriculture has advanced, many localized AGR-based food systems and farmers' rights have been neglected. Promoting and maximizing genetic diversity and localized food systems is described as crucial for food, nutrition, health, business, and environmental security. Effective food systems are characterized by site-specific staple foods, diverse genotypes, product diversification, incentives, circular and inclusive agriculture, waste reuse and recycling, and urban agriculture. The paper suggests that respecting every aspect of farmers' contributions — treating a farmer's household as a "shop" — would be a beneficial strategy.
BiodiversityFood sovereignty & justiceThe Nalanda Model of Filling Grow Bags and Coupled Line Paradigm for Rural Development
2025R. Jaishanker, Akshay Kumar, Mritunjay Pandey · Journal of Rural Development · India
This paper proposes the "Nalanda model," a paradigm linking rural and urban women in India through grow-bag rooftop farming: rural women prepare cow dung cakes that are stacked in grow bags with a sand-dung mixture as potting material, channeled through women's collectives to urban women who fill and sell the bags to urban customers. The paper presents this as a conceptual empowerment and livelihood strategy connecting rural and urban marginalized women rather than reporting field-tested outcomes or measured results.
Urban–rural linkageEconomicsWelfareUrban agriculture education for teens: A multidimensional study of positive psychosocial and metacognitive outcomes
2025Mecca Howe, Jennifer Meta Robinson · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This case study examined psychosocial impacts among 13-to-17-year-old participants in the Felege Hiywot Center's 2023 STEAM Farm Camp in an underserved urban US neighborhood with limited access to affordable, nutritious food, where teens designed and maintained garden plots, prepared shared meals, and did science projects. Using survey and facilitated-journaling data, the study found that gardening produced positive feelings and was experienced as stress relief and a source of accomplishment, that teens built friendships and mentorships, and that participation was associated with metacognitive skill development including self-awareness and reflection.
Food educationCommunityHealthA systematic review of horticultural therapy and urban agriculture interventions targeting depression, anxiety, and acute stress disorder
2025Christopher Tate, Shariq Mumtaz Hashmi, Niamh O’Kane, Ruth F. Hunter · Cities · Global
This systematic review searched four bibliographic databases and identified eleven studies on horticultural therapy (HT) interventions drawing on urban agriculture practices for people with pre-existing diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or acute stress disorder. Six studies reported improvements in depressive symptoms, three found HT mitigated stress, and two reported a positive influence on anxiety, but more than two-thirds of the included studies carried moderate (n=6) or high (n=2) risk of bias with substantial methodological heterogeneity, and the small number of studies limits the generalisability of the findings; the review concludes that further research is needed to establish a robust causal link between HT interventions and improved mental health outcomes in this population.
HealthCommunityFood educationEconomic analysis of Agaricus bisporus mushrooms production and the perspective of sharing economy
2025Filip Schilla, Gaga Mumladze, Jana Soukupová, Ľuboš Smutka · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
This study simulated basement and ground-level room conditions — temperature, humidity, light exposure, and air quality — for cultivating Agaricus bisporus (white button mushrooms) as a form of urban agriculture, and calculated the associated costs and profits to compare feasibility between the two environments. The basement environment proved more favorable, with more stable temperatures and higher humidity reducing energy requirements, and economic analysis showed basement cultivation had lower initial and operational costs than ground-level cultivation.
EconomicsCommunityDigital agricultureAgroecologia e Comunicação Popular: Estratégias de Difusão de Saberes no Semiárido Alagoano
2025João Manoel da Silva, Maria Celia de Paula Rocha, Mariana de Aquino Freitas, Érika Sabrina Felix Azevedo, Rafael Balbino Cardoso, Vitória R. R. de A. R. Ramalho · Revista de Gestão e Secretariado (Management and Administrative Professional Review) · Brazil
This project diagnosed the socioeducational profile, prior knowledge, and training needs of residents in several municipalities of the Alagoas semi-arid region (sertão alagoano) of Brazil, using an electronic questionnaire and a quali-quantitative analysis of responses, followed by thematic training cycles on "Cultivation in Small Spaces," "What to Plant," and "Ecological Management" to spread agroecological practices in urban, peri-urban, and backyard-garden settings. Results showed most participants already had some cultivation space and strong interest in sustainable practices such as composting and organic fertilization, though some showed technical limitations; women and young people predominated among respondents, and all participants expressed interest in further training, prioritizing digital materials such as explanatory videos and educational booklets.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleDiez beneficios de los huertos urbanos: enfoque en las crisis socioeconómicas
2025Mysha Clarke · EDIS · Global
This extension publication outlines the potential benefits of urban gardens for nearby neighborhoods, the broader urban community, peripheral communities, and visitors to a city, aimed at urban planners, residents, and community members planning new gardens or maintaining existing ones. It presents guidance rather than original study data or measured outcomes.
CommunityEconomicsHealthFood-energy-water sustainability in urban spaces: insights from open geospatial datasets in Coimbatore, India
2025V. S. Manivasagam, G. V. Saai Shreyaa, Shriienidhie Ganesh · Computational Urban Science · India
This study built a geospatial framework using open-access geospatial datasets to assess the economic feasibility of rooftop gardening, rainwater harvesting, and photovoltaic installations across 368,748 rooftops in Coimbatore, India. Projected revenue estimates were ₹28.58 billion for photovoltaic systems, ₹15.79 billion for rooftop gardens, and ₹0.34 billion for rainwater harvesting; a crop-specific analysis found chillies the most profitable rooftop crop, with potential revenue of ₹38.51 billion, and coriander the least profitable at ₹4.57 billion.
Climate changeEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceSmart Urban Farming: A Triangulation-based Framework for the Practices Identification
2025Puteri Sidrotul Nabihah Saarani, Asniza Hamimi Abdul Tharim, Zulkefle Ayob, Asmalia Che Ahmad, Osman Mohd Tahir · Journal of Construction in Developing Countries · Malaysia
Using a triangulation method combining a Delphi survey with a case study, researchers identified life-cycle cost (LCC) components and phases for smart urban farming (SUF) practices in Malaysia. Iterative semi-structured interviews and Delphi rounds built expert consensus on which SUF practices matter for LCC assessment, producing a structured framework for classifying these cost components.
PolicyEconomicsDigital agricultureExploring neighborhood transformations and community gardens to meet the cultural food needs of immigrants and refugees: A scoping review
2025Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango, Destiny Otoadese, Keji Mori, Nkechinyere Chinedu-Asogwa, Joyce Kiplagat, Binita Jirel · Health & Place · Global
A scoping review of existing literature examined how community gardens are used to address cultural food insecurity among immigrant and refugee communities and the neighborhood transformations that accompany them. It identified physical, social, cultural, environmental, and policy-level changes and benefits spanning nutrition, physical activity, psychological healing, and social connection, but found a lack of comprehensive evidence specifically on Canada regarding how neighborhoods are changing to meet these communities' cultural food needs.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceOptimizing urban agriculture for long-term ecosystem services: Integrating scenario-based suitability analysis and the landscape approach
2025Yu Huan, Steffen Nijhuis, Nico Tillie · Journal of Cleaner Production · Europe
Using Rotterdam as a case study, researchers combined machine-learning suitability modeling (XGBoost with SHAP), deep-learning land-use simulation, and monetary ecosystem-service valuation to compare three scenarios for 2030 and 2050: business-as-usual, suitability-based autonomous transformation, and a suitability-based landscape-approach transformation. Suitability-guided scenarios outperformed business-as-usual, with the landscape-approach scenario producing the most stable multi-decadal outcomes for regulating and cultural services, but provisioning services could plateau or decline when ecological protection constraints limited intensive production.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityClimate changeCollective autonomy of small-scale farmers and the shared responsibility of transitions to fairer and more just food systems
2025Grace O’Connor, Kimberley Reis, Georgette Leah Burns, Cheryl Desha, Ingrid Burkett · Journal of Rural Studies · Australia
Researchers investigated the lived experiences of 24 small-scale farmers across 16 ecologically sustainable farms in South-East Queensland and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, examining how their experiences shaped participation in societal transitions to sustainable food systems and contributions to social-ecological resilience. Participants' narratives largely aligned with the "new peasantry" movement, and the paper uses a lens of collective autonomy to discuss how shared responsibility between individuals, communities, organizations, and governments could be reperceived through collective paradigm shifts, community-supported agriculture, and universal basic income.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyEconomicsAdvancing Food Security and Sustainable Living in Southern African Urban Communities
2025Karen Botes, Christina Breed · Land · South Africa
In the Melusi informal settlement of Tshwane, South Africa, researchers used a mixed-methods approach -- semi-structured questionnaires, focus group interviews, and photo-elicitation, analyzed with SPSS and Atlas.ti -- to examine socio-cultural perceptions of modular living wall systems planted with African vegetables as a way to enhance household food security. Key barriers to urban agriculture identified included high maintenance costs, pest control problems, spatial constraints, exposure to extreme weather, and limited access to water and fertilizer, while the community supported living walls with African vegetable crops for their space-saving and biophilic value, with success depending on low-tech, cost-effective, modular systems built from recycled materials using nutrient-dense, compact crops.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityWelfareClimate changePOLÍTICAS ALIMENTARES URBANAS: DESAFIOS E OPORTUNIDADES PARA A SEGURANÇA ALIMENTAR NAS CIDADES MOÇAMBICANAS, COM FOCO NA CIDADE DE QUELIMANE-2025
2025Moçambique MANI TESE, Franscisco Monteiro Chimote, Paulo Xavier Tebulo · Revista fisio&terapia. · Mozambique
This study examined the challenges and opportunities in formulating and implementing urban food policies in Mozambique, focusing on the city of Quelimane, drawing on literature review, official document analysis, and observations from multisectoral training that involved the municipality's departments, nutritionists from the health and agriculture ministries, industry and commerce representatives, district services from Quelimane, Maganja da Costa, Mocuba, and Nampula, an Agrofood-link Mozambique representative, urban planning and infrastructure staff, and a Shoprite supermarket. It identified institutional fragmentation, precarious infrastructure, and climate change impacts as factors compromising urban food security, alongside opportunities linked to urban agriculture, participatory governance, and international cooperation.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityChapter The Political Ecology of Collective Urban Gardening
2025Ioana | https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4755-779X Florea · OAPEN (The OAPEN Foundation) · Global
This entry is a chapter, "The Political Ecology of Collective Urban Gardening," within the New Routledge Handbook of Political Ecology, but the abstract provided describes only the handbook's overall structure and editorial approach -- 52 chapters across three parts on decolonizing political ecology, activism and praxis, and the making of twenty-first-century natures -- rather than this chapter's specific subject, methods, or findings on urban gardening.
PolicyCommunityCultivating nut tree species in urban community gardens in Germany: motivations, challenges, and opportunities
2025Janine Opitz, Monika Egerer · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Germany
An online survey of 111 responding projects from Germany's urban community gardening network examined the presence and diversity of nut tree species and the motivations and challenges for adopting and expanding them. Nut trees existed in almost half of the responding projects, but in small numbers with low yields, hindered by limited space, local laws and regulations, and interaction with other garden species, and only 50% of projects planned to incorporate more nut tree species in the future.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityHeirloom & landraceAnalyzing urban horticulture of avocado in the Bavarian plateau
2025Finn Williams, Ruby Johnston, Aiden Campbell · International Journal of Horticulture and Food Science · Germany
At the Christchurch College of Food Technology in New Zealand, researchers compared five growing systems -- rooftop container, raised bed, peri-urban orchard, rural orchard (reference), and heated greenhouse -- for avocado (Persea americana) cv. 'Hass' under simulated Bavarian Plateau conditions, using a randomized complete block design with four replications over three years (2020-2022). The rural orchard yielded highest at 22.3 kg per tree, peri-urban raised beds achieved 18.7 kg per tree using 56% less land, and rooftop containers (200 L pots) produced only 6.8 kg per tree, confirming that container culture is viable but yield-limited; rooftop systems had the lowest weed pressure, peri-urban orchards supported the richest arthropod biodiversity, and ISSR molecular markers confirmed genetic uniformity among grafted plants across systems, ruling out somaclonal variation as a source of the yield differences.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureAnálise exploratória de tendências em agricultura urbana
2025Eduardo Cesar Silva, Daniel Leite Mesquita, Paulo Henrique Montagnana Vicente Leme · Revista Brasileira Multidisciplinar · Brazil
Using a competitive-intelligence approach drawing on both academic and journalistic sources, this study conducted an exploratory analysis of global urban agriculture trends to identify the main technologies and models in use. It found that urban agriculture is expanding worldwide and is practiced through diverse models, notably community gardens, rooftop gardens, controlled-environment food cultivation, and cellular agriculture.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureDigital agricultureFood sovereignty & justice