Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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The Role of Urban Food Forests in Promoting Environmental Sustainability and Public Health: A Focus on Temperature Regulation and Mental Health
2025Wen‐Pei Sung, Ming-Cheng Liao, Hsian-Ling Peng, Chung-Tien Huang, Yun-Jung Chuang, J Wang · Sustainability · Global
Against a backdrop of intensifying urban heat island effects and residents' mental health problems amid urbanization, this study examined the impact of an Urban Food Forest Program on urban environmental comfort, heat island mitigation, and the mental health of middle-aged and elderly residents. Using on-site field measurements and questionnaire surveys, it analyzed the environmental comfort of green spaces in urban heat island hotspots and assessed participants' mental health. The Urban Food Forest Program significantly reduced surrounding environmental temperature, with an average cooling effect of 2.4°C particularly in soil areas, and reduced heat island intensity in the surrounding area by 15%. In the mental health survey, male participants scored significantly higher than female participants (p = 0.017), and middle-aged and elderly participants who took part more than five times per week scored 17% higher, significantly better, than low-frequency participants. The study notes that its relatively small sample size and limited observation period may affect the generalizability of its findings, and that it focused on one specific urban area that may not represent the broader urban context.
CommunityHealthClimate changePeri-urban agricultureBiodiversityPKM Kelompok Wanita Tani (KWT) D’Shafa dengan Penguatan Value Added dan Pemasaran Community Supported Agriculture
2025Agustin Windianingsih, Mulki Siregar, Estu Mahanani, Aisyah Hikmatur Romadhonah, Nihlah Hariro Romadhona, Urvia Rahmadani, Adinda Putri Salsabila Salvi, Idham Nur Kholiq · Jurnal SOLMA · Indonesia (Jakarta)
This report describes a community-service activity (PKM) conducted by Universitas Islam Jakarta with D'Shafa, a farming community in Jakarta focused on urban agriculture development, aimed at strengthening food security and economic welfare. The activity followed five method stages — education, training, technology application, evaluation, and program sustainability — with the goal of helping the D'Shafa Women Farmers Group (KWT) create value-added processed products. The activity produced value-added products through the use of a vacuum-frying machine for making fruit and vegetable chips, and it broadened KWT D'Shafa members' knowledge of preparing simple and digital financial reports and of digital marketing.
CommunityEconomicsCSA & TeikeiWelfareFood sovereignty & justice159Chapter 8 Conclusion
2025Lori G. Beaman, Ryan T. Cragun, Douglas Ezzy · · Global
This concluding book chapter, drawing on interviews with community gardeners, reviews the themes of equality and substantiality in what community gardeners can tell us about nonreligion. It argues that community gardeners have a deep awareness of their entanglement with other terrestrial beings — humans, animals, insects, and plants — leading them into a distinct form of ethical engagement driven primarily by relationships and practices rather than by intellectual commitment to abstract norms (though these can sometimes be significant, citing Ezzy 2004). Nonreligion is characterized as being less about the absence of religion and more about substantive content — commitments, practices, and relationships — and the chapter argues that the concept of "lifestances" is the best way to conceptualize this substantive content, and that the religion/nonreligion binary must be transcended to understand humans as entangled in a network of terrestrial relationships.
CommunityWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceCiptakan kampung hijau dengan pemberdayaan kelompok PKK melalui pengelolaan urban farming
2025Hanik Endang Nihayati, Retno Indarwati, Elida Ulfiana · Jurnal Masyarakat · Indonesia
Aimed at creating urban green space and food production through urban farming — framed as an innovative strategy for food security amid rapid urbanization — this Indonesian initiative built urban greening through collaboration among community groups, the PKK women's welfare movement, and village (kelurahan) government officials. It was carried out as a five-stage, one-year mentoring program (socialization, trial, implementation, evaluation, and harvest festival) starting in April 2018. The urban farming program, which involved community members, particularly women, was found to improve quality of life by providing access to quality vegetables in the city center and creating a greener environment. The program is described as providing real benefits to the community, the village government, academics, and higher-education institutions, and as needing to be expanded to other regions with active involvement of women to broaden its impact.
CommunityWelfareFood educationPolicyDrivers, Barriers, and Consumer Preferences in Urban Gardening: A Case Study of Hyderabad, India
2025Dhaipule Amritha, B. Nirmala, Ch. Srilatha, K. Supriya · Journal of Scientific Research and Reports · India
This study examines the motivations driving urban gardening, the challenges gardeners face, and how pricing, usability, and support services shape consumer preferences among residents of Hyderabad, India. Using purposive sampling, 80 respondents completed a structured questionnaire with 5-point semantic differential scales, analyzed via mean ranking and multiple linear regression. Most respondents were female, educated, middle-aged, and married, living in nuclear families, with both working professionals and homemakers participating in gardening. Adverse weather and pest problems were the most commonly reported challenges; among package features, material quality was rated most important, followed by price and ease of use. Pricing, usability, and support services significantly influenced consumer preferences (p < 0.01).
CommunityEconomicsFood educationBenefit perceptions and their influence on the willingness to join community supported agriculture (CSA)
2025Stefan Galley, Rita Saleh, Patrick Bottazzi · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · Global
This between-subjects online experiment examined how information about the benefits of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shapes non-members' perception of those benefits, their perceived relevance, and willingness to join, alongside trust, subjective knowledge, sustainable food shopping behavior, political orientation, and sociodemographics. 754 respondents were randomly assigned to six groups: five each exposed to information on one benefit (nutritional, sustainability, solidarity, transparency, or community), plus a control group. Regardless of the information given, farmers were perceived to benefit most from CSA, followed by society, then the individual; participants themselves ranked individual benefits and environmental sustainability as most important, followed by solidarity with farmers, transparency, and community. Higher perceived overall CSA benefit was associated with higher willingness to join. Information on solidarity, nutrition, and community was most effective for young, educated, and often female respondents, while nutrition-focused information reached environmentally conscious, conservative consumers; information on nutrition and environmental sustainability produced the highest willingness to join overall.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityValuing Urban Agriculture in Indonesia: Cultural Ecosystem Services and Willingness to Pay in Rapidly Urbanizing Cities
2025Ratih Hesty Utami Puspitasari · Moneta Journal of Economics and Finance · Indonesia
This study evaluates willingness to pay (WTP) for urban ecosystem services — particularly cultural and provisioning services delivered by urban agriculture (UA) — in rapidly urbanizing Indonesian cities, using a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) structured survey and logistic regression to identify socioeconomic predictors of WTP, supplemented by a review of comparative case-study literature to contextualize the findings. The results show strong public support for UA, with higher WTP associated with cultural ecosystem services tied to heritage, aesthetics, and community identity. Key predictors of WTP were income, education, environmental concern, and prior exposure to UA, with regional differences reflecting cultural and policy context. The study notes methodological limitations of CVM in capturing intangible values and advocates mixed-methods approaches incorporating ethnographic and participatory tools.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyMorphometric characteristics of Bambu Apus rabbit
2025Amelia Kamila Islami, Henny Nuraini, Bram Brahmantiyo, Eko Handiwirawan, Ferdy Saputra, Nurul Azizah, Cecep Hidayat, Wawan Sulistiono · Brazilian Journal of Biology · Indonesia
This study examines morphometric traits — body weight and measurements of the head, chest, limbs, spine, and ears — of the Bambu Apus rabbit, a breed formed by crossing several rabbit breeds and adapted to the environment of DKI Jakarta, Indonesia, comparing 65 adult Bambu Apus rabbits against secondary data from 40 adult Rex and 40 adult New Zealand White rabbits. Analysis used SAS software v9.4: ANOVA (PROC GLM), Mahalanobis distance analysis (PROC DISCRIM), canonical discriminant analysis (PROC CANDISC), and phenogram construction (MEGA11). Discriminant analysis showed Bambu Apus rabbits differed morphometrically from Rex and New Zealand White rabbits: average body weight was 2473.54±480.13 g, higher than Rex (P<0.05); chest depth was 8.69±1.11 cm greater than both Rex and New Zealand White (P<0.05); and backbone length was 37.84±3.51 cm longer than Rex (P<0.05). Genetic distance and phenogram analysis showed low kinship between Bambu Apus and both Rex and New Zealand White rabbits, which the study suggests indicates potential for developing tropical-climate-adapted broiler rabbits.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceFeeding the cities, healing the planet: A review of urban agriculture’s role in achieving SDGs and India’s policy imperatives
2025B Sreejith, B Maneesh · South Asian Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Global
Set against challenges to social equity, ecological balance, and global food availability from population growth and rapid urbanization, this review paper surveys existing literature linking urban agriculture to multiple Sustainable Development Goals — including poverty eradication, ending hunger, health and well-being, gender equality, economic growth and employment, inclusive urban development, sustainable consumption and production, climate action, land ecosystems, and global partnerships — and discusses policy implications for India. It compiles prior findings associating urban agriculture with locally grown food supply, resource optimization and emissions reduction through urban forestry, rooftop gardens and vertical farming, reduced food miles, and education, skill-building and community participation opportunities including for women and youth. The paper presents no original empirical data of its own.
CommunityPolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEffects of a school garden experiential intervention project on primary pupils’ environmental behaviour
2025Emmanouel Arizanis, Dimitrios Kyriazis, Vassilis Barkoukis · Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning · Europe
This study tested the effectiveness of a specially designed school garden project aimed at improving intrinsic motivation (enjoyment, satisfaction/effort), social skills (responsibility, cooperation), and behavior (attitude, intention) as components of environmental behavior, among 152 fourth- and sixth-grade primary school pupils in Greece (M = 10.89 years, SD = 0.99), assigned to intervention and control groups. Pupils were tested before the intervention, at its end, and two months afterward. Over an eight-week intervention of two hours per week aligned with the Greek school curriculum, the intervention group attended the school garden project while the control group attended unrelated projects. The analysis found the program had a long-lasting effect on pupils' environmental behavior.
Food educationCommunityTitle Pending 6016
2025Sarah Steinegger, Nora Katharina Faltmann · Journal of Political Ecology · Global
A qualitative study of a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiative in Switzerland that links a rural mountain area with urban consumers (Journal of Political Ecology, 2025) examined institutional, organizational, cognitive, social, and experiential proximity between consumers and farmers despite geographical distance. The study found that consumers and farmers faced challenges in establishing proximity, but that shared experiences from farming activities and social events, along with participants' willingness to improve CSA operations and strengthen ties, contributed to an ongoing process of building proximity.
CSA & TeikeiUrban–rural linkagePenyuluhan dan Edukasi<i> Urban Farming </i>Berbasis Pekarangan Rumah melalui Pemanfaatan TOGA dan Tanaman Rosella untuk Penguatan Kesehatan Keluarga
2025Nurul Zakiyah, Andien Putri Amelia, Dini Nurhandini, Lhaeira Hilda Arsheillah, Eka Yunita Putri, Dimas Aditya Riski, Bisyru Maulana Ali, Muhammad Surya Alkautsar · Academic Zeal for Community Innovation Research and Engagement · Indonesia
A community outreach program in Astanalanggar Village, Indonesia (2025) delivered participatory-action-research based education on yard-based urban farming, combined with cultivation of family medicinal plants (TOGA) and training in roselle processing, targeting the Arum Sari Women Farmers' Group and PKK members. The program used field observation, group discussion, education sessions, technical mentoring and planting activities. Reported outcomes were increased community participation and behavioral change toward using yard land and processing local plants for food, health, and household economic value.
Food educationCommunityExploring Community Gardens and Race in The Deep South
2025Jennifer Jettner · Journal of Social Work and Social Welfare Policy · United States
A qualitative study (Journal of Social Work and Social Welfare Policy, 2025) interviewed ten garden leaders representing nine urban and rural community gardens in Alabama, USA, analyzing themes through a racial capitalism and black geographies framework. It found that health-focused garden efforts were white-led while justice-focused efforts were BIPOC-led, and that all of the gardens struggled to engage a racially diverse membership reflective of their surrounding neighborhood. For white-led efforts, the main impediment was found to be importing racial diversity rather than centering and celebrating BIPOC leadership and knowledge. BIPOC-led efforts held differing interpretations of the impact of historical trauma, possibly linked to a "rural imaginary." All gardens studied struggled to engage youth and expressed fear of losing food and growing knowledge across generations.
Equity & displacementCommunityIntegration of urban farming and waste management in realizing a sustainable environment in Dauh Puri Kaja Village
2025Made Dwi Kanaka Sarahswati, Dew Ayu Trisna Adhiswari Wedagama · Penamas Journal of Community Service · Indonesia
A community service program in Dauh Puri Kaja Village, Denpasar, Indonesia (2025) combined urban farming with 3R-based waste management (reduce, reuse, recycle), providing hands-on training at the local Balai Banjar in waste sorting and composting organic waste for use in urban farming, followed by compost distribution at the village's waste management site. Reported outcomes were improved community understanding of using compost for household-scale farming and of proper waste segregation; the program's anticipated longer-term community impact was stated as an expectation, not a measured result.
CommunityOrganic cycleCompostDIYUrban farming model innovation with vegetable alley system to support sustainable urban agriculture governance evidence in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia
2025Retno Wulandari, Alvira Indriani · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · Indonesia
A study of the "vegetable alley" system—cultivating food crops, ornamentals, and medicinal plants in narrow residential pathways—in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia (2025) surveyed 80 respondents selected by simple random sampling, using descriptive analysis and Spearman rank correlation. Vegetable alley management in Yogyakarta was rated "good" across planning, organizing, mobilizing, and controlling activities. Farming experience, the role of extension workers, the role of group leaders, member participation, and knowledge were significantly correlated with management quality, while education level showed no significant relationship. The study states that vegetable alley implementation contributes to climate change mitigation by increasing green cover, enhancing carbon sequestration, and reducing the carbon footprint from food transportation.
CommunityPolicyDIYPelatihan Pestisida Nabati dari Limbah Lidah Buaya untuk Pengendalian Layu Bakteri Cabai di Kelompok Wanita Tani Sumber Rejeki
2025Marlina Marlina, Muhammad Hafizh, Putra Jaya Gea, Yovi Avianto · Abdimas Galuh · Indonesia
A community outreach program at the KWT Sumber Rejeki women farmers' group production garden in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, held on November 26, 2024 (Abdimas Galuh, 2025), delivered counseling and hands-on training on preparing and applying a natural bactericide made from aloe vera waste to address bacterial wilt disease in chili cultivation. Reported outcomes were increased member knowledge and skill regarding bactericide definitions, benefits, natural ingredients, production technique, and application method, with high participant engagement. The program's authors note that the effectiveness of the aloe vera bactericide in actually suppressing Ralstonia solanacearum growth had not yet been evaluated and recommend this, along with testing on other horticultural crops, as follow-up work.
CommunityOrganic cycleDIYFood educationPotential decarbonization for balancing local and non-local perishable food supply in megacities
2025Xintao Lin, Jianping Qian, Jian Chen, Qiangyi Yu, Liangzhi You, Qian Chen, Jiali Li, Pengnan Xiao, Jingyi Jiang · Resources Environment and Sustainability · China
A study of Beijing and Shanghai, China (2025) modeled decarbonization from adjusting the local-sourcing share of seven perishable food categories — vegetables, poultry, aquatic products, beef, and lamb among them — incorporating both production and cold-chain logistics emissions across multiple localization scenarios. Each 1% increase in localization of vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products cut 2020 emissions by 0.4-1.9 tCO2e, while the same 1% increase for beef and lamb raised emissions by 0.2-2.9 tCO2e; localization reduced the cold-chain emission share for every food category. A constrained "balancing strategy" cut 2020 emissions by about 0.76 MtCO2e (5%) in Beijing and 0.44 MtCO2e (2%) in Shanghai, and an unconstrained scenario maximizing urban agriculture use achieved 3-4 times more reduction. Under a business-as-usual projection, the strategy was estimated to offset over 90% of Beijing's added emissions by 2035, with a further 0.44 MtCO2e reduction possible in Shanghai. The findings indicate that importing more carbon-intensive ruminant meat while reallocating urban resources toward vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products could produce more sustainable food supplies in megacities.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCrafting a grassroots introduction to food policy course
2025William D. Schanbacher, Joe Bohn, Erica Hall · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
A reflective essay (2025) recounts a pilot, public-facing virtual course, "Introduction to Food Policy," delivered in summer 2022 by the University of South Florida Food Sovereignty Initiative and the Florida Food Policy Council, building on prior Florida work in urban agriculture, agroecology, and food sovereignty. Over six weeks, the course featured weekly presentations from food-system specialists on: understanding food policy, researching food policy, environmental food policy, food policy advocacy, civic engagement in food policy formulation, and regional food policy, and was open to students, community members, and policymakers. The authors, drawn from Florida Food Policy Council leadership and Food Sovereignty Initiative faculty, share observations on developing and delivering the course along with participant comments from a post-course survey and an outside evaluation by the North American Food Systems Network.
Food educationPolicyCommunityA FOME E A AGRICULTURA URBANA E PERIURBANA NA AGENDA DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS DO BRASIL
2025Fabio Henrique Albuquerque de Jesus · Revista Americana de Empreendedorismo e Inovação · Brazil
A theoretical essay on hunger in Brazil (2025) applies the Public Policy Cycle Model to the persistent, structural problem of hunger in Brazilian politics, noting that hunger is not unique to Brazil — about two billion people worldwide experience moderate or severe food insecurity — while all Brazilian regions show nutritional deficits tied to inadequate or insufficient food intake. In this context, it frames urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP) as a social and public-policy tool for promoting food and nutrition security, examining the agenda-setting and formulation stages of AUP policy through discussions from Brazil's National Conferences on Food and Nutrition Security. Noting the 2024 establishment of Brazil's National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Policy and its ties to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the essay concludes that much remains to be done to strengthen AUP as public policy and consolidate its social, economic, and environmental impact, particularly to make it effective for promoting food and nutrition security.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsAnalisis Finansial Usahatani Selada Hidroponik di Merko Hidroponik Kota Banjarbaru
2025Ramadha Subhani Aden, Luki Anjardiani · Frontier Agribisnis · Indonesia
Focused on "Merko Hidroponik," a Merck Family Foundation-funded hydroponic (NFT) lettuce enterprise in Banjarbaru City, Indonesia, adopted as urban farming to address declining agricultural land, this study (2025) used descriptive methods to calculate total costs, revenue, profit, and business feasibility (R/C ratio) for the period March 2023 to July 2024, during which 11 planting cycles were completed from seeding through nursery, growth management, harvest, and post-harvest processing. Total costs were Rp7,906,424, total revenue Rp9,920,000, and profit Rp2,013,576, yielding a feasibility ratio of 1.254, concluded to make the business "feasible" to run. However, the study also identifies that the enterprise currently faces problems of root rot disease, managerial inefficiency, and challenges maintaining production continuity.
Economic viabilityEconomicsDigital agricultureHydroponics in Modern Agriculture: Principles, Benefits, Challenges, and Role in Urban Food Security and Sustainability
2025Aparadh Vt, V. Bhagyashree, Ms. Suman P. Meghwal, Ms. Safiya M. Raeen · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
This review outlines hydroponics — soilless cultivation that feeds plant roots directly with nutrient-supplemented water, often using inert media such as perlite or coco coir. It states hydroponic systems use about 90% less water than conventional agriculture and describes applications for home and commercial urban growing in areas with limited arable land, as well as potential future use in inhospitable environments such as Mars or the Moon. It also notes the method is resource-intensive, requiring specific investment and expertise, and is not suitable for all crop types.
EconomicsClimate changeDigital agricultureAnalisis Kejadian Risiko Produksi Kangkung pada Urban Farming (Studi Kasus di Greenhouse X)
2025Talitha Ummiyah Hana, Sulistyodewi Nur Wiyono, Mahra Arari Heryanto, Ahmad Choibar Tridakusumah · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Bandung)
A case study of Greenhouse X, an urban farming enterprise in Bandung, Indonesia, found that its hydroponic water spinach (kangkung) supply has not been able to optimally meet market demand, and that its supplier-farmer partners are often inconsistent in meeting supply targets. Using a qualitative case-study method analyzed descriptively, the study identified 19 production risk events. The highest-severity risks (Si=9) were plant death during growth and root rot; harvest delays and unmet product quantity were rated as extreme-impact risks (Si=8).
Economic viabilityEconomicsDigital agricultureSynergistic integration of urban agriculture and green infrastructure to enhance urban sustainability in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
2025Ermias Debie · City and Environment Interactions · Ethiopia
A study in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia examined the integration of urban agriculture (UA) and green infrastructure (GI) through surveys and interviews with 99 stakeholders, supplemented by participatory observation. The main barriers to integration, based on multiple-response data, were a lack of supportive policies and regulatory frameworks (87%), limited awareness (57%), and space constraints (51%). Multicriteria decision analysis ranked integrated practices as the most effective strategy (score 16.81), followed by edible tree planting at garden centers (16.18), small gardens (13.83), and fence-edge greening (11.46). Structural equation modeling identified thermal regulation and access to fresh food as critical factors for planning sustainable urban systems.
Governance failurePolicyCommunityBiodiversityClimate changeCurrent Status of the Community-Supported Agriculture Model in Poland—Exploring Key Areas of Sustainable Operations
2025Monika Onyszkiewicz, Marta Sylla · Sustainability · Poland
This study surveys the current state of active Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups in Poland, identifying active CSA farms and analyzing their offers, reach, and member characteristics, motivation, and involvement. As of when the study was conducted in 2023/2024, 13 food-producing farmers were inventoried across 35 groups, reaching an estimated 1,200 people. Drawing on the experience of CSA communities elsewhere in Europe, the study concludes that an umbrella organization is needed to network Poland's CSA community and support active farmers through advocacy, education, and coordination of CSA development at the national level.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityEconomicsAnalysis of the growth and yield of Microgreens of the Brassica sp. family on the effect of limitied irradiation
2025Audina Meiliansya, Yayu Sri Rahayu, Nurcahyo Widyodaru Saputro · Journal of Mangifera Edu · Indonesia
Conducted from February to March 2025 at the Faculty of Agriculture laboratory, Singaperbangsa University, Karawang, Indonesia, this study examined growth and yield of Brassica microgreens (cauliflower, radish, and broccoli) under six levels of limited light exposure (indoor control, outdoor control, and 60%, 50%, 40%, and 30% lighting), using a split-plot design within a group randomized design with two replicates per treatment (36 experimental units total). F-tests at the 5% significance level, followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test, showed a significant interaction between light exposure and plant type for growth uniformity and plant height at 7 days after planting (DAP). The combination of 50% lighting with broccoli produced the highest growth coherence value, 88%, while the tallest plants at 7 DAP, 6.55 cm, occurred with 30% lighting combined with broccoli.
Digital agricultureEconomics