Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
7626 results(70 / 306)
A classification scheme for urban agriculture combining technical properties with characteristics related to the economic and social sustainability
2024Mélanie Douziech, Stefan Mann, Stefan Galley, Jens Lansche · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global
Urban agriculture is often associated with sustainable practices, but the diversity of systems classified as urban agriculture and limited information on their sustainability call that link into question. Drawing on 91 scientific papers, a study proposes a holistic classification of urban agricultural systems combining technical, social and economic characteristics, with economic production intensity and the intensity of cooperation among actors as key axes. One end of the scheme covers ground-based, open, socially motivated systems with high cooperation and low production intensity; the other end covers building-integrated, quasi-closed systems with high production intensity. Mapping sustainability claims from the literature onto the scheme associated "urban farming" with job creation, food safety, water savings and higher yields, and "urban gardening" with educational potential, biodiversity improvements and lower yields.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyOrganic cycleStrategies for building edible green infrastructure in traditional villages and insights into bio-districts: a case study of Dong villages in Huanggang, China
2024Chengxiang Zi, D. Winterbottom, Juanjuan Liu · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China
Focusing on a well-preserved village of the Dong ethnic group in southwest China that maintains traditional livelihoods and a local food system, a study used field surveys, interviews and participatory mapping to propose an edible green infrastructure (EGI) model for traditional villages. The model comprises the "rice-fish-duck" cycle as the core of traditional livelihoods, a hierarchical ecological structure of "households-groups-village," and corresponding management models. By theoretically analyzing the EGI of traditional villages shaped over China's millennia-old agricultural civilization, the study aims to inform sustainable food-system and natural-resource-management knowledge, applying it to the construction of bio-districts in rural China.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleThe comparative advantage of urban goat production
2024Takele Taye Desta · Veterinary Medicine and Science · Ethiopia
Based on in-depth interviews with seven key informants in the cities of Adama and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a study evaluates the significance of urban goat production, one component of urban agriculture, and ways to lessen its adverse impacts. Goats can thrive in limited urban open spaces, scavenge leftovers from homes and open markets, and browse on open public land; incorporated into urban agriculture, they can contribute to a circular economy, thrive on a limited supply of water and feed, and require less care and space. Goat farming is used to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change, and goats' active nature makes them better at avoiding traffic accidents; they can also be used to control bush encroachment. Urban goat farming improves land use efficiency and food security, and goats can be used for children's play and urban ecotourism. However, goats can harm urban green spaces, so goat production must be zoned to avoid this. The study concludes that urban goat farming could add a new dimension to urban food security, but that more empirical evidence needs to be generated to support its adoption.
CommunityEconomicsWelfareBringing local food education to workplaces: Assessing needs for a health and wellness program
2024Cody Gusto, Catherine Campbell, Annie Wallau, Wendy Wood · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
With Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension educators in the United States seeking new audiences amid reduced enrollment and a lack of unified vision, workplace wellness and education programs are identified as an emerging opportunity, particularly to complement workplace Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs that connect local farmers and employees via employer-sponsored cost-offsets. A study assessed potential workplace wellness program participants' perceived knowledge, attitudes, and barriers to purchasing and cooking local food, and their preferred information types and program format, to guide development of a local food health and wellness education program. Respondents had positive attitudes about local food but limited knowledge of how to purchase and prepare it. They indicated that information on those topics, plus information on unusual locally grown fruits and vegetables and reducing food waste, would be most useful, and preferred online program offerings during weekday lunchtimes.
Food educationCSA & TeikeiHealthCommunityAGRICULTURA URBANA, SOCIAL, SUSTENTÁVEL E INTERDISCIPLINAR: RELATO DE UMA EXPERIÊNCIA ESCOLAR VIVENCIADO NA PRÁTICA
2024Miguel Angelo Rodrigues, Silvia Adriana da Silva Soares, A. F. V. BISCARO, R. V. MARTINS, Rafael C. Dutra · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Brazil
This report documents an interdisciplinary school activity in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, built around the Agrinho program and centered on urban, social and sustainable agriculture. Activities included classroom discussion, a video, a body-mass-index exercise linking math and science, visits to organic and hydroponic garden beds from bed preparation to fertilizing, and a closing essay; the report states that cross-disciplinary integration and partnerships with the municipal agriculture department were key to the activities' success.
Food educationCommunityMicrogreens: A Comprehensive Review Emphasizing Urban Agriculture
2024Jagarlamudi Nethra, B. Srinivasulu, Vadada Vinay Kumar, C. Lakshmana Rao · International Journal of Environment and Climate Change · Global
This review surveys nutrient-rich microgreens with emphasis on their role in urban agriculture, covering nutritional composition, culinary applications and cultivation techniques through an agronomy, nutrition and urban-planning lens, without presenting specific experimental data or figures.
CommunityFood educationUnderstanding the diversity of Community Supported Agriculture: a transdisciplinary framework with empirical evidence from Germany
2024Matthias Middendorf, Marius Rommel · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Germany
This study used a transdisciplinary mixed-methods approach, combining literature, qualitative and quantitative data, in cooperation with the German CSA Network to build a framework capturing the diversity of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Germany, where CSAs grew from about 10 to over 500 in just over a decade yet remain niche. Using the framework to co-develop a survey covering 70 participating CSAs, the researchers found that community financing (domain A) is the defining characteristic distinguishing CSA from other alternative food network forms, and confirmed high diversity in differentiating characteristics (domain B), including governance types split among producer-led, consumer-led and integrated CSAs.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceAgricultura en la ciudad: Una ruta hacia la cultura del bienestar y de la sostenibilidad
2024Adriana Díaz Caamaño · Academia XXII · Spain
This essay frames urban food cultivation and harvesting, once a common practice around human settlements in past centuries, as a new trend for urban sustainability amid an environmental crisis driven by city growth and its planetary impact. It argues that unsustainable agriculture is straining to feed a vast population with little awareness of the countryside or of its benefits for mental and physical well-being, but presents no specific study data or case findings.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeChallenges and opportunities of urban agriculture programme implementation in Indonesia: social, economic, and environmental perspectives
2024Aji Saputra, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Gemilang Lara Utama · Local Environment · Indonesia
A commentary on the current state of urban agriculture implementation in large Indonesian cities, the initiatives underway and the mechanisms for pursuing stated goals. It identifies land scarcity, inadequate urban agricultural infrastructure, financial constraints, and regulatory and administrative problems as the major obstacles to implementation. It also states that urban agriculture improves quality of urban life by providing fresh, healthy food and fostering community engagement, and cites Singapore, New York and Ghana as examples showing the importance of policy support, innovation and community involvement.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyEconomicsClimate changeFostering Empowerment of Urban Community Gardening Through Urban Agriculture Initiatives in Malaysia
2024Nafisah Awang, Suhana Saad, Sarmila Md Sum · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Malaysia
A discussion of Malaysia's government Urban Agriculture Program, which promotes farming on unused spaces such as rooftops and empty lots, including rooftop gardens, community gardens, vertical farming and hydroponics, against a backdrop in which 76% of Malaysia's population lives in cities and faces difficulty accessing affordable, nutritious food. It describes support for urban farmers from the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), and states that urban agriculture provides improved food access, income generation, social interaction and community empowerment, arguing that participation, knowledge sharing and skills development drive economic empowerment.
CommunityFood educationWelfareImplementasi IoT Fertigation di Urban Farming Alam Sari PPPK Petra
2024Djoni Haryadi Setiabudi, Resmana Lim · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Bangsa · Indonesia
A community-service report on implementing an IoT-based fertigation system at the Alam Sari PPPK Petra urban farm in Indonesia, aimed at automating fertilizer application, irrigation and nutrient-concentration control for hydroponic crops. Following on-site observation to define maintenance and installation needs, the team designed, built and tested the hardware and software. Two IoT devices — a fertigation unit and a nutrient-concentration controller — were installed, easing hydroponic maintenance work for farm staff and serving as a teaching tool on information technology for visiting students.
Digital agricultureCommunityFamily farming in the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza (RMF), Ceará
2024Iara Rafaela Gomes · Sociedade & natureza · Brazil
A study examining agricultural activity, in particular family farming, in the Fortaleza Metropolitan Area (FMA) of Ceará State, Brazil. Drawing on primary and secondary data on producer profiles and agricultural and food-processing establishments in the region, it identifies key issues in production and food systems within the FMA. The study presents the production strategies used by family farmers, the challenges they face, and opportunities they identify, and argues that examining agriculture in metropolitan areas links socio-spatial and socio-environmental problems and points toward cross-sectoral public policy.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityPesticide contamination pattern of surface water in an urban–agricultural mediterranean watershed (Wadi Guenniche, Bizerte Lagoon, Northern Tunisia)
2024Olivier Grünberger, Radhouane Hamdi, Manon Lagacherie, Hanène Chaâbane · Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part B · Africa
Two years of monthly water sampling and hydrological monitoring at the outlet of the Wadi Guenniche watershed (86 km², with rainfed cereal, legume and orchard cultivation and irrigated market gardening) in northern Tunisia, a tributary of the Bizerte coastal lagoon, tested for 469 pesticide active ingredients and metabolites. Twenty-nine pesticide active ingredients and 2 metabolites were detected in the water, 24 of which are authorized for use in Tunisia; 14 of the authorized substances had never before been mentioned in farmer surveys. The five most frequently detected herbicides and metabolites were AMPA (100%), glyphosate (94%), simazine (94%), 2,4-D (70%) and deisopropylatrazine (DIA, 47%). The detection frequency and concentration range suggest phytosanitary pressure and water contamination comparable to the northern Mediterranean shore, indicating a need for further study of pesticide use and fate on the southern shore, particularly in Tunisia.
Environmental trade-offsPolicyCommunityURBAN REGENERATION AND PUBLIC SPACE: LESSONS ON EARLY INTERVENTION OF COMMUNITY-BASED MICRO-PLANNING
2024Seng Boon Lim, Nur Wildaniah Syafiqah Mohd Razib, Imam Mukhlis, Na’asah Nasrudin, Isnen Fitri · PLANNING MALAYSIA · Malaysia
A mixed-methods single-case study evaluating early intervention in community gardening/urban farming initiatives under the Special Area Action Plan Section 13 urban regeneration project in Petaling Jaya City, Malaysia. The quantitative component analyzed 200 questionnaire samples using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative component thematically analyzed 8 interviews. Findings show respondents were skeptical about awareness, safety infrastructure and support services, caretaking, and land ownership concerns surrounding the proposed community gardening at the Sungai Penchala monsoon drain area. The study recommends that authorities plan more awareness-intervention campaigns, strengthen safety infrastructure design, provide policy support for appointing caretakers, and resolve land acquisition issues when revitalizing leftover urban public spaces.
CommunityPolicyTANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE BENEFITS OF THE URBAN AGRICULTURE PRACTICE
2024Breno Giordane dos Santos Costa, Marcelo de Rezende Pinto · Revista Economia & Gestão · Brazil
An exploratory qualitative study using practice theory examined a community garden in the city of Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Individuals involved in producing and consuming food from the urban community garden reported two categories of positive change: health as a tangible benefit and general well-being as an intangible benefit.
HealthCommunityWelfareANALISIS KARAKTER DAN MANFAAT LORONG SAYUR DI KOTA YOGYAKARTA SEBAGAI RUANG TERBUKA HIJAU
2024Angga Mahardika Syahrul Putra, Jafron Wasiq Hidayat, Kasiyati · Prosiding SNAST · Indonesia
Against the backdrop of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia (32.85 sq km) having only 23.52% green open space coverage versus the legally required 30%, this study used a literature review method (journal articles, proceedings, government documents, regulations, and spatial data) to analyze the form and role of the city's Lorong Sayur ("vegetable alley") program. It found Lorong Sayur to be a form of vertical urban agriculture using land along alleys and neighborhood roads, with an ecological effect of minimizing non-organic waste and contributions to changing residents' lifestyles and improving socio-economic life.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyDEVELOPMENT OF VERTICAL CULTURE CULTIVATION IN THE MUHAMMADIYAH STUDENT ASSOCIATION OF CANDI
2024M Abror, A. Miftakhurrohmat, Andriani Eko Prihatiningrum, Ade Eviyanti · Journal of Social Comunity Services (JSCS) · Indonesia
This community-outreach program in Candi District, Indonesia, targeted the Muhammadiyah Student Association (IPM), a youth organization, aiming to improve members' understanding and skills in vertical culture cultivation as a way to optimize narrow urban land for agriculture, delivered through structured socialization, training, and mentoring. Participants gained the ability to design and implement vertical culture systems, agricultural productivity improved in both quantity and quality of harvests, and the program evaluation showed a significant increase in participant knowledge.
CommunityFood educationFood sovereignty & justiceIntegrating Equity as a Central Theme in Urban Agriculture: The Case of the City of Seattle, Washington
2024Kimberley Hodgson · Urban agriculture · United States
A critical examination of urban agriculture governance in Seattle, Washington, USA, tracing the geographic, social, agricultural and governmental context of city policy. Seattle established its P-Patch community gardening program in 1973, and grassroots and community organizations have worked on food production and food security since the early 1970s, but the city government did not begin systemic policy engagement until the early 2000s. Using a critical lens, the chapter examines key policies - including urban agriculture zoning regulations and the Local Food Action Plan - and projects such as the Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands Project, to assess the impact of urban agriculture policy on racial, social and health equity.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceThe role of community gardens in achieving UNSDG 11, Target 7: safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces
2024Joanne Dolley, Michael Howes · Australian Planner · Australia
Drawing on interviews with participants across several types of community gardens in Australia, this paper examines how community gardens can contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 Target 7, providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces. Applying a broader definition of "inclusive" than the target currently suggests, it finds that community gardens improve the inclusivity and activation of public spaces through their design features, governance, and community involvement, contributing to Target 11.7. Community involvement in design and governance, secure land tenure, well-chosen locations, and sufficient resourcing were identified as factors improving gardens' ability to meet the target. Developing additional indicators to measure progress toward the target is identified as an area for further research.
CommunityPolicySpatial analysis of urban agriculture in the utilization of open spaces in Nigeria
2024Olalekan Tolulope B. Aduloju, Olumuyiwa Bayo Akinbamijo, Abdullateef Iyanda Bako, Abdulfatai Olanrewaju Anofi, Kolade Victor Otokiti · Local Environment · Nigeria
This study analyzed the practice of urban agriculture (UA) in open spaces within the Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria, combining primary and secondary data collected through questionnaires, an interview guide, digital cameras, a UA survey form, and GPS. Main findings showed that 14.34 hectares of land (31.4% of it in the city core) was dedicated to UA in Ilorin, an area estimated as capable of helping at least 1,500 families escape poverty. Average Nearest Neighbour Analysis (ANNA) revealed that UA sites were clustered rather than randomly distributed. Mean analysis showed the dominant food staples grown at Ilorin UA sites were vegetables (3.09), maize (2.86), cassava (2.64), millet/sorghum (2.46), and yam (2.31). Access to land, failed harvests from pests and disease, price collapse, and adverse weather events were identified as the leading challenges affecting UA practice. The study calls for city-level integration recognizing the rights of the urban poor and of UA within Ilorin's land-use plan.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsUrban agriculture as ecosystem services provider: A review
2024Assyifa Fauzia, Evi Frimawaty, Hadi Susilo Arifin · Holistic Journal of Tropical Agriculture Sciences · Global
This literature review examines the role of urban agriculture as an ecosystem services provider in mitigating urban environmental deterioration. It states that urban agriculture adds various functions across different landscape scales and can provide numerous benefits when managed correctly. The review method compiled literature on urban agriculture and ecosystem services across provisioning, regulating, and cultural service categories. Results describe urban agriculture as taking diverse forms, from private gardens to community plots, addressing limited public funding and promoting greening initiatives; it is described as contributing to biodiversity conservation and to regulating the urban microclimate, including reduced urban heat island effects, wind protection, and pollutant absorption. It is also described as adding aesthetic value to urban spaces, promoting cultural integration, and functioning as a multifaceted strategy for sustainable urban development addressing food security, resilience, and well-being. Amid challenges including threats to urban biodiversity and the need for proper green-space management, the review frames urban agriculture as a holistic approach contributing to cities' visual, cultural, and environmental fabric.
BiodiversityClimate changeCommunityPolicyEffectiveness of integrated nutrient management in enhancing brinjal growth and soil fertility
2024Priya Singh, Ramakrishna Bora, Asha Devi · International Journal of Bioscience and Biochemistry · India
This study evaluated the effectiveness of integrated nutrient management (INM) in enhancing brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) growth, yield, and soil fertility in urban agricultural settings in Jorhat, India. Given declining soil fertility and over-reliance on chemical fertilizers, INM — combining chemical fertilizers, organic manures, and biofertilizers — was tested as a sustainable alternative using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments (control, chemical fertilizers, organic manures, INM), each replicated three times. Growth parameters (plant height, Leaf Area Index, number of branches) were measured, and fruit yield and quality were recorded at harvest; soil fertility indicators (pH, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) were analyzed at the start and end of the study. INM significantly enhanced growth, producing the highest plant height (112 cm), LAI (3.7), and number of branches (6.5). INM-treated plants produced 33% higher fruit yield (25.4 tons/ha) than the chemical fertilizer treatment and 66% higher than the control. Soil fertility improved in INM plots, with increases in soil pH (6.8), organic carbon (1.8%), and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels.
Organic cycleCommunityEconomicsThe Green Agent: Detroit's Urban Agriculture
2024Lydia Bonney · · United States
Drawing on newspaper articles, books, scholarly journals, websites and one self-conducted interview, this paper examines several urban agriculture programs across Detroit's history. Analysis of past successes and failures of these programs argues that investing in urban agriculture today could address problems the city has long faced. The paper concludes that Detroit's particular landscape, community, and spatial disparities give it potential to become a world leader in urban agriculture.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyMunicipal Planning Response to Urban Agriculture: Equity is Not Quite on the Table
2024Samina Raja, Subhashni Raj, Carol E. Ramos-Gerena · Urban agriculture · United States
This book chapter, part of a volume honoring urban planning scholar Jerome Kaufman's legacy, examines the extent to which local, regional and metropolitan governments in the United States engage with urban agriculture policy through an equity-centered, ethically grounded lens, summarizing a collection of perspectives on municipal policy from scholars and policy practitioners nationwide. While urban agriculture has become increasingly recognized as a space for local government engagement since Kaufman's call to action, the authors conclude that municipal governments continue to struggle to center questions of equity and ethics in their policymaking, even as they claim a progressive approach toward urban agriculture.
PolicyCommunityWelfareBuilt Environment Impact on Health, Water, Air, and Sustainable Urban Agriculture: A Case Study of Alameda Zaragoza in Saltillo, Mexico
2024Miriam Elizabeth Mery-Ruiz, Gabriela Carmona Ochoa, Areli Lopez-Montelongo · Apple Academic Press eBooks · Mexico
Focusing on the Alameda Zaragoza district in Saltillo, Mexico, this study investigates the relationship between urban morphology and sustainability in the built environment. It used an ethnographic methodology involving qualitative social media research, collecting images and text through Microsoft Bing word searches and analyzing them with nubedepalabras software to identify semantic networks. The findings show that online communities' urban imaginaries offer insights into sustainability strategies, and the study recommends expanding the analysis to other case studies and including search results in additional languages.
Climate changePolicyCommunityHealth