Research & reports

Joe Howe · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · United Kingdom

This article explores the neglect of research concerning food grown within urban areas and its land-use policy implications. It details findings from a UK study on land-use policy and urban agriculture, investigating land-use officials' attitudes and knowledge of urban food production and the regulatory framework used. The article concludes that despite extensive urban agriculture practice, its urban land-use policy implications require more attention from both land-use officials and researchers than previously given.

Yong Zhao · · China

This paper discusses the characteristics and significance of urban agriculture development in China. It analyzes urban agriculture as an effective way to increase the per-capita income of peasants, which is central to building an all-round well-off society in the countryside. The paper also explores countermeasures for developing urban agriculture.

Alberto Gurovich Weisman · Cuadernos del Cendes · Chile

This paper examines the creation and persistence of a state territorial intervention model called Worker and Family Orchards, tested from 1929 and legitimized in 1941 through the Caja de la Habitación Popular. The Caja acquired the La Pintana estate in 1942 and built housing on 500 half-hectare plots, opening the first stage in 1946 and further stages in 1950 and 1957. During the critical settlement period of 1979-1985, the number of resident families rose by 327.73%, equivalent to 12.94 times the average for Greater Santiago.

Maurizio Tiepolo · PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino (Politecnico di Torino) · Niger

This paper investigates whether urbanization in Niamey, Niger, generates or aggravates urban food insecurity by examining agro-pastoral production, food demand, and buying power. It found that Niamey's high rate of urban growth has increased food insecurity for its inhabitants. This insecurity is attributed to low productivity of peri-urban agriculture, insufficient food influxes, rising prices, extreme poverty, and a nutrient-poor diet, with current measures failing to address root causes like land tenure uncertainty.

LI Ya-hong · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper describes urban agriculture as a modern agricultural industry shaped by metropolitan regions and socio-economic circumstances. Its main characteristics include a perfect market system, aggregated production patterns, industrialized management, high-tech production, and the harmonization of three agricultural benefits. Beyond commodity production, urban agriculture should also offer direct and indirect multifunctions such as ecological construction, leisure tourism, cultural education, export, and demonstration.

Jeff Sharp, Eric Imerman, Greg Peters · Journal of Extension · United States

This qualitative study of a Midwestern Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program explored how CSA builds connections between farmers and non-farmers. The findings indicate that CSA successfully met participant goals while fostering community among these groups. The study suggests that CSA can be promoted at the rural-urban interface to strengthen community and support local agriculture.

CAST · · United States

A twelve-member task force report examines the changing role of agriculture in urban settings within American society. The report frames urban agriculture historically and contemporaneously, detailing geographic, demographic, and economic changes. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are discussed, alongside research and educational challenges for institutions of higher education.

Fang Zhao · · Japan

This paper discusses Japan's utilization of farming land and related promotional policies. It notes that while progress was made before the 1960s, farming land utilization has continuously retrogressed since then. Despite a series of measures taken to correct this, the results have been unsatisfactory. However, the paper suggests that lessons can be learned from these measures regarding policy guidance, renting/contracting systems, wasteland control, land information, and urban farming garden construction.

Adriana Maria de Aquino · · Cuba

This study analyzes the geographical scope and organizational structure of urban agriculture in Cuba. It identifies organic matter as one of the key bases for urban agriculture and describes modalities for producing fresh vegetables and condiments.

Takashi Watanabe, Makoto Yokohari · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan

This study investigated the implementation status of urban agriculture promotion policies by local municipalities in Japan's National Capital Region, specifically those involving urban residents. It aimed to clarify the actual conditions of these policies, some of which predated the revised Production Green Land Law of 1992. The research emphasizes the importance of urban residents' understanding and active involvement in urban agriculture, necessitating proactive intervention by local governments.

Nobuyuki MINO, Isao NAKASE · Journal of The Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture · Japan

A study investigated the usage patterns of allotment gardens in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. In urban allotment gardens, users were predominantly in their 60s, utilized gardens frequently and from nearby, and derived satisfaction primarily from agriculture and forestry. In multi-natural residential areas, users were slightly younger, mainly in their 50s, engaged in more diverse uses, and found satisfaction not only from agriculture and forestry but also from landscape and community interaction. From these findings, it was considered that allotment gardens in multi-natural residential areas have the potential to be a core for urban-rural exchange, with agriculture, forestry, and the surrounding environment functioning as mediators.

Zhou Xiao · · China (Guangzhou)

This article discussed the development of urban agriculture tourism in Guangzhou from four aspects: the concept of urban agriculture and urban agriculture tourism, the superiority of developing agriculture tourism in Guangzhou, the conception of developing urban agriculture tourism in Guangzhou, and some related discussions.

Ren Wei-na · · China (Beijing)

This analysis states that the development of urban agriculture in Beijing aligns with current productivity demands. Urban agriculture is considered important for solving land and water resource shortages, fulfilling environmental protection and recreational functions, and promoting bidirectional development between town-suburbanization and suburb-urbanization.

· Wikipédia (français) · France

This French Wikipedia article on shared/community gardens (jardin partagé) notes that Paris's first jardin partagé appeared in 2002, after which the City of Paris institutionalized the "Main Verte" (Green Hand) program, networking and supporting charter-signing garden associations under a unified framework. It also cites that, as of 2018, the national federation (FNJFC) united over 200 associations and 20,000 gardening families.

Rodomiro Ortíz, Celia Vera · Cultivos Tropicales · Cuba (Ciudad de La Habana)

This study investigated the agricultural biodiversity in urban gardens across eight localities in the municipalities of Boyeros and Arroyo Naranjo.

Weiguo Gao · · China (Yuxi)

This abstract proposes that agricultural production activities in Yuxi should be integrated with urban economic activities centered in Kunming. The goal is to occupy the market, serve more people, establish regional comparative advantages, and build foundational elements for urbanization.

Zhao Shu-mao · 系统科学与系统工程学报(英文版) · China (Kaifeng)

This paper discusses the structure and efficiency of agricultural land use in Kaifeng Suburban, China, based on system theory. It reveals current problems such as benefit deviation from resource allocation and distinguished unemployment. The study advances resolution measures for sustainable development, including farmland protection, ecological agriculture, sustainable land use, and decreased input of synthetic matter.

Gan Jin-tian · · Global

Urban agriculture originates from and develops within suburban agriculture. This study argues that important inner links and transition points exist between urban and suburban agriculture, such as growth regions, functions, and industrial layouts.

Camillus J. Sawio, Lori A. Spies, Djibril Doucouré · CABI Publishing eBooks · Africa

This chapter provides an overview of international efforts and initiatives to strengthen urban and periurban agriculture, with special reference to related networks in Africa.

LI Wei-jiang · Economic Geography · China (Shanghai)

This paper provides a preliminary discussion on the strategic key points for constructing modern urban agriculture in Shanghai. It examines four aspects: body-function transformation, structure adjustment, development organization, and spatial structure composition.

J.J. Tolron · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This article examines peri-urban agriculture, which is subject to land constraints imposed by nearby cities. Two case studies in the Mediterranean region illustrate that adaptations to the peri-urban context trigger radical changes in agricultural systems' functioning rationale, leading to sometimes paradoxical operations. The study emphasizes the diversifying effect on systems and the challenges linked to land management.

Karen Flynn · Africa · Tanzania

This article compares urban farmers in Mwanza, Tanzania, with those in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. In Mwanza, urban agriculturalists are increasingly not among the poorest, often being middle and upper-class males with access to scarce land and inputs, similar to Ghana. They differ from farmers in Kenya and Zambia in terms of gender, socio-economic class, and motivations. Many of Mwanza's wealthier males continue to face enough job/income insecurity to choose to plant crops to support themselves and their household in lean times.

Moez Bouraoui, Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Cahiers Agricultures · Tunisia (Tunis)

In Tunis, the concept of public green spaces has not evolved much, and the risk of continuous urbanization is real, making agriculture not inherently sustainable between dynamic urbanization poles. However, new attitudes are emerging, with environmental concerns influencing public planning policies, and residential forms, recreational/cultural practices associated with agriculture, and new citizen interest in rural areas are appearing. These developments may signal the beginning of a new planning policy and the advent of urban agriculture in Tunis.

王雪梅 · 山西农经 · China (Taiyuan)

This paper discusses the "comprehensive urban diseases" resulting from urbanization, such as population concentration, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation, which threaten human health and well-being. It notes that as cities increasingly move away from nature, urban residents long for rural landscapes, prompting a call for green industries to return to cities. "Urban agriculture" has thus emerged in some large cities in China as a response to these challenges and a path towards sustainable urban development.

CAST · · United States

This comprehensive report, written by a twelve-member task force, considers the changing role of agriculture in urban settings. The report frames "urban agriculture" within historical and contemporary American society, depicting geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are examined.