Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(72 / 306)
Producción y consumo alimentario en espacios periurbanos de proximidad. Procesos socio-territoriales en la conformación de los sistemas agroalimentarios
2024Héctor Ávila Sánchez · Investigaciones Geográficas Boletín del Instituto de Geografía · Global
This conceptual article examines periurbanization as one of the most dynamic territorial expressions in contemporary society, discussing the reconfiguration of food-production spaces in peri-urban areas that form part of metropolitan systems as a social and territorial process. It addresses proximity, the consolidation of short supply circuits, and new territorial forms such as city-region food systems and "agrarian parks" (parques agrarios) — a form found mainly in Europe that the article frames as a territorial innovation countering the disarticulation of peri-urban agrarian space under growing metropolization. It discusses the spread of cooperative-based forms (food hubs, cooperative supermarkets, shared workshops) and the roles of social movements, producer organizations, and public institutions in shaping peri-urban territorial governance, framed through solidarity economy and social justice.
Urban–rural linkagePolicyEconomicsCommunityA study of vulnerability, hazard, and risk in relation to food insecurity in the United States and Spain
2024Iman Mamnoon · GeoFocus Revista Internacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Información Geográfica · Global
Using a GIS-based risk assessment methodology, this study develops a quantitative food-insecurity scale for the most vulnerable urban populations, calculating risk as a combination of social vulnerability and hazard (difficulty of access to food distribution), and applying the model to two case studies: southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States and Puente de Vallecas in Madrid, Spain. A Social Vulnerability Index was computed from average income, education level, unemployment rate, and age, while hazard values were derived from proximity to supermarkets. The analysis identified high-risk food-insecurity areas in both neighborhoods requiring urgent intervention measures. In Puente de Vallecas, census tract 07913143 was identified as a high-risk hotspot with a Social Vulnerability Index of 1.646495 (range 0.901–3.223) and a risk value of 3 (range 3–10); in southeast D.C., tracts 7601 and 7605 were selected as high-risk zones for further study, with Social Vulnerability Index values of 2.221 and 1.737 (range 1.040–3.525) and risk values of 2 and 5 (range 0–10), respectively. The study also identifies a general shortage of areas combining residential and commercial use and limits on public transport availability in the food-insecure urban areas studied.
Equity & displacementPolicyCommunityWelfareCultivating Sustainability: A Quantitative Study Identifying N.J. Urban Ag. Barriers in Food Deserts
2024Tatiana Hlinka · Journal of Student Research · United States
In New Jersey, 50 food desert areas face the most severe food insecurity across both rural and urban contexts. This study identified nine barriers to implementing urban agriculture initiatives in New Jersey's urban food deserts, using a sequential quantitative analysis combining a survey of food systems professionals with a GIS-based spatial analysis to identify the most prevalent barrier. Working in partnership with New Jersey urban agricultural organizations, the study found that lack of funding was the most commonly cited barrier to expanding urban agriculture initiatives. The GIS-based spatial analysis found that high-priority barriers varied by region, but that all organizations identified funding, or lack of access to funding, as a significant barrier regardless of whether they operated in a low- or high-income neighborhood. The study concludes that policymakers must reevaluate the role of urban agricultural organizations in New Jersey's urban food deserts.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareHealthGarden city planning and Nordic (de)colonial ambivalence in Tanga, Mbeya and Moshi master plans (1973–1975)
2024Essi Lamberg · The Journal of Architecture · Africa
A case study of the Tanga, Mbeya and Moshi master plans (1973-1975) in Tanzania, developed with Finnish technical assistance, challenges the conventional narrative that Nordic countries acted as neutral, benevolent foreign aid agents. The analysis shows Finnish planners operating in an ambivalent environment combining colonial heritage, decolonial policy and neo-colonial practice, developing a planning approach that translated travelling concepts of suburbanization, neighborhood models and urban gardening into the language of Tanzanian decolonial policy. The three master plans used garden city planning ideas to extend planning principles formerly reserved for the white European elite to the entire urban population, in service of the socialist ujamaa project.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageFood educationCARACTERIZAÇÃO DE RESÍDUOS SÓLIDOS E LÍQUIDOS GERADOS EM INSTALAÇÕES DE CONFINAMENTO TIPO COMPOST BARN
2024Victor Crespo de Oliveira, Leonardo França da Silva, Érika Manuela Gonçalves Lopes, Ana Carolina Chaves Dourado, Matheus Mendes Reis, Bruna Nogueira Rezende, Letícia Duron Cury, Cássio Furtado Lima, Fabiane de Fátima Maciel, Silvana Ferreira Bicalho, Ariadna Faria Vieira · · Europe
Noting that global population growth is raising concerns about the sustainability of cities and soils, climate change, and food access and security, and that many urban areas face challenges related to their food supply infrastructure, this paper positions urban agriculture as a potential contributor to food security and income generation for impoverished households, while noting that conventional agriculture contributes to soil erosion and soil/groundwater pollution, and that climate change disrupts animal life cycles and drives species extinction, reducing food availability for humans and other organisms. Within this framing, the paper presents aquaponics as a method integrating urban agriculture for plant cultivation with safe fish production, and reports a project to develop and install an optimized aquaponics system at the School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto (ISEP). The soil-less vertical garden was built using two tanks holding approximately 2,000 liters of water, spanning three floors with three planter boxes and more than 120 positions for growing vegetables. Pedagogical activities were also carried out, involving students from Bioresources, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Informatics Engineering.
CommunityFood educationOrganic cyclePELATIHAN PEMBUATAN BATIK DARI HASIL BUDIDAYA BUNGA TELANG (BUNTEL) MULYOREJO SEBAGAI PEWARNA ALAMI DI KELURAHAN MULYOREJO
2024Mutia Devi Hidayati, Arief Rahmatulloh, Luchis Rubianto, Pritantina Yuni Lestari · Jurnal Abadimas Adi Buana · Indonesia
In the Mulyorejo sub-district of Sukun district, Malang, Indonesia (area 2.75 km²), residents actively use vacant land and underused resources under an urban farming concept, including cultivating butterfly pea flowers, though product diversification of the flowers into higher-value goods had not been thoroughly developed. This community service project delivered skills training in making batik using butterfly pea flowers as a natural dye — a technique noted for producing soft colors, commanding a high market value, and being environmentally friendly, aligned with the "clean water and sanitation" Sustainable Development Goal — and introduced ways of combining different natural dyes for color variation. Held on October 7, 2023 with 8 participants, the post-training questionnaire yielded a mean of 3.88 and a mode of 4.0 across questions, indicating participants understood, felt the benefits of, and were satisfied with the training; participants also received an electric canting (batik drawing tool) for independent production.
CommunityEconomicsDIYFood sovereignty & justiceModel Komunitas Pertanian Perkotaan Menuju Ketahanan Pangan Melalui Modal Sosial di Kabupaten Gresik
2024Pawana Nur Indah, Gung Risa, Endang Yektiningsih, Indra Tjahaja Amir · Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen Agribisnis · Indonesia
In Gending Village, Kebomas District, Gresik Regency, Indonesia, 87 purposively sampled residents who had practiced urban farming and a healthy lifestyle for at least two years were surveyed by questionnaire interview, and Partial Least Square analysis tested how social capital dimensions affect community empowerment. Trust (T=0.786), social norms (T=0.511) and social network (T=0.810) all exceeded the 1.96 significance threshold, showing significant positive effects of each dimension on empowerment of the urban farming community.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyGoing with the food flow: The contribution of urban agriculture to a growing African city
2024Matthijs T. Wessels, Lisa‐Marie Hemerijckx · Development Southern Africa · Sub-Saharan Africa
More than 700 surveys with food vendors and consumers, combined with ethnographic research with farmers, quantified and mapped the contribution of urban and peri-urban producers to fresh leafy vegetable supply in the growing city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Seventy percent of all amaranth consumed in the city was found to be produced within it, with an average farm-to-fork distance of 11 km, indicating a strongly localised foodshed for leafy vegetables. The results point to the ongoing significance of urban areas in meeting their own food demand and the need to explicitly integrate food provisioning into the planning of growing African cities.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsFood miles & supply chainThe spatial organisation of urban agriculture in the global south food security and sustainable cities
2024Górna, Ada · · Global
A book examines the position of urban agriculture within the spatial and functional structure of cities in the Global South through case studies of three cities: Havana, Singapore and Kigali. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in each city, it documents the diverse characteristics of urban agriculture across differing socio-economic, spatial, political and environmental conditions and identifies constraints on its development.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyClimate changeEconomicsUrban Open Space Utilization for Subsistence Agriculture: A Study of Esikhaleni Township
2024Zwelakhe Thulasizwe Mascot Maseko · Journal of Asian and African Studies · South Africa
In Esikhaleni Township, South Africa, structured interviews with local farmers and in-depth interviews with officials from uMhlathuze Municipality examined why residents use urban open spaces for subsistence agriculture and how it affects their livelihoods. Food insecurity, demand for accessible fresh produce, interest in farming, and rising food costs were identified as the main drivers, and open-space agriculture was found to contribute to livelihoods through improved access to fresh food, reduced food expenditure and supplementary income from produce sales, leading to a recommendation that urban planning set aside land for agriculture.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceEmbedding opportunities for poverty alleviation in urban green infrastructure design and management using South Africa as a case example
2024Charlie M. Shackleton, Peta Brom, Nanamhla Gwedla, Abraham R. Matamanda, Mallika Sardeshpande, Sopna Kumar-Nair · Cities · South Africa
Using South Africa as a case example, the study scored six types of urban green infrastructure (UGI) — amenity spaces, blue infrastructure, natural/semi-natural lands, urban parks, urban agriculture and verges — against five dimensions of poverty alleviation: cash or non-cash income, skills development and learning, physical and mental health, reduced vulnerability and risk, and participation in decision-making, rating current and future potential alongside the degree of change required. Urban agriculture was scored as having the highest current potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and verges the lowest, while parks and amenity spaces offered the greatest returns per effort and verges were identified as key sites for pro-poor intervention due to their wide distribution. Overall, the study concluded that greater investment and changes in the attitudes of authorities would have a bigger impact on poverty alleviation across all UGI types than changes to policy and procedure.
WelfarePolicyCommunityEconomicsSoil health and carbon storage in community gardens in the Perth metropolitan area, Australia
2024Haochen Zhao, James T. O’Connor, Sarah Zou, Zakaria M. Solaiman, Bede S. Mickan, Nanthi Bolan · Soil Use and Management · Australia
At six community gardens across three soil mapping units — calcareous deep sands, coloured sand and pale sands — in the Perth metropolitan area, Australia, soil samples were compared between cultivated raised beds and adjacent bare ground used as a control. Raised-bed soils showed lower bulk density, higher pH buffering capacity, more available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, greater cation exchange capacity, total carbon and microbial biomass than surrounding urban soil, and were estimated to have accumulated 0.55 kg of carbon per square meter (5.5 t/ha) in the top 10 cm, with no significant heavy metal contamination detected in any of the garden soils. The improved soil health and carbon storage were attributed mainly to regular application of compost produced within the gardens.
CommunityClimate changeOrganic cycleHeterogenic nature of guerrilla gardening
2024Agnieszka Gralińska–Toborek · Journal of AESTHETICS & CULTURE · Global
A discussion piece categorizes guerrilla gardening — the grassroots activity of planting vegetation in public spaces — into four types: gardening, activism, art and farming, each further subdivided into areas such as beautifying urban spaces, promoting social change, providing food, advancing education and building community. It notes that empirical research increasingly points to a discrepancy between the modest practice of gardeners and the more expansive expectations of theorists, symbolized by the movement's use of military terminology, and observes that research on guerrilla gardening lacks in-depth aesthetic reflection.
DIYCommunityPolicyURBAN LANDSCAPE DESIGN - A COMMUNITY-ORIENTED PROPOSAL FOR CRAIOVA OLD TOWN
2024Andreea Melinescu · Annals of the University of Craiova Series Biology Horticulture Food products processing technology Environmental engineering · Europe
This study focuses on designing a green space in the Old Town of Craiova, Romania. Using 3D landscaping software, a 270 m² area was designed with terraces covered in Wisteria sinensis, green walls, aromatic plants, and fruit trees, applying the Edible City Solutions concept, plus community-oriented elements such as a stage for events. The project is presented as a model for sustainable urban green spaces intended to enhance social interaction and environmental quality.
CommunityDIYPelatihan Hidroponik bagi Ibu-Ibu PKK untuk Menciptakan Kawasan Urban Farming
2024Ni’matul Istiqomah, Magistyo Purboyo Priambodo, Nur Anita Yunikawati, Wahjoedi Wahjoedi · International Journal of Community Service Learning · Indonesia
This report describes a hydroponic-farming training program for 35 women members of the PKK family-welfare movement in Kauman Kelurahan, Malang, Indonesia, aimed at upgrading skills in hydroponic cultivation on narrow land and reviving community activity that had stalled during the Covid-19 pandemic. The training combined socialization with hands-on demonstrations covering both standard hydroponic equipment (such as pipes) and methods using everyday household items, and it reports increased knowledge and skill in hydroponic cultivation among participants.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareAgroecologia, sociedade civil, políticas públicas e agroecologia urbana: a construção do Sistema Participativo de Garantia da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte
2024Bruno Dias Magalhães, D. B. Almeida, Gabriel Mattos Ornelas, Lara Andrade Silva Viana, Flávia de Paula Duque Brasil, Carneiro, Ricardo José, 1955-, Fundação João Pinheiro, Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, Fundação João Pinheiro, Fundação João Pinheiro, Fundação João Pinheiro · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil
An analysis of the process of building the Participatory Guarantee System (SPG) for organic/agroecological production in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (RMBH), Brazil. The SPG's construction traces back to 2004, driven mainly by social movements and civil society actors engaged with urban agroecology; in 2018 the Belo Horizonte municipal government initiated the first protocol of intentions to strengthen agroecology in the RMBH, creating an Inter-institutional Support Committee with SPG consolidation as one of its goals. The article traces this articulation trajectory, emphasizing civil society and social movements' role in what it frames as a "peri-institutional" space, examining how the Committee builds capacities as agroecology draws closer to the state, while also questioning how much real autonomy and agency the people who actually produce and sell within this arrangement retain.
PolicyCommunityOrganic cycleAgricultura Urbana: Funções e Potencialidades
2024C. HAURESKO · · Brazil
The available abstract text is fragmentary, breaking off mid-sentence after stating that "society, democracy, and sustainable development are taking on new and inspiring forms of struggle and adaptation" and that academic research on Latin America allows for a deeper understanding of the transformations and challenges its societies face. It does not contain specific content—methods or findings—about urban agriculture itself despite the title.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityParticipatory Demonstration and Evaluation of Bread Wheat and Teff Technologies: The Case of Urban Agriculture at Akaki Kaliti Sub-City in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2024Chernet Assefa, Addisu Getahun, Endale Mekonnen · Middle East Research Journal of Economics and Management · Ethiopia
A participatory demonstration conducted in three districts of the Akaki Kaliti sub-city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the 2021/22 production year, in which a total of 61 farming households (47 male-headed, 14 female-headed) benefited, covering 14 hectares of bread wheat and 30 hectares of teff. The demonstrated technologies produced an average grain yield of 56.66 quintals/hectare for bread wheat and 22.16 quintals/hectare for teff, both higher than the national average. The study concludes that boosting agricultural production requires stakeholder attention to disseminating and adopting improved crop varieties with full production packages, using cluster farming to reduce poverty and ensure food security.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsWelfareArtists invoke urban food security: Nature-based solutions when everything is imaginable
2024Linda Weintraub · Nature-Based Solutions · Global
This essay examines five contemporary artists whose works address urban food insecurity through individually and community-scaled, nature-based approaches rather than large-scale production and distribution systems. Analyzing both the content of the artists' food-related concerns and the unconventional strategies used to convey them, the essay argues these works are relevant to nature-based solutions (NBS) for urban food, noting some approaches appear suited to scaling up while others point to a need to relax regulations that inhibit experimentation.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityFiltration Systems in Fishery Aquaculture
2024Rioaldi Sugandhy, Ayi Yustianti, Yoga Nugraha, Rizky Prananda, Yuli Andriani · Indonesian Journal Of Aquaculture Medium · Indonesia
This literature-based, qualitative content-analysis study examined filtration systems used to maintain water quality in small-scale aquaculture ("urban farming" aimed at self-sufficient food security), covering mechanical media (cotton, dacron), biological media (bio balls, ceramic rings) and chemical media (activated carbon, zeolite). It found that the type of filter media used affects water quality, fish growth and survival, and that using vegetables as supplementary filtration also affected water quality.
CommunityHealthDigital agriculturePOTENSI PERTANIAN BERBASIS DUKUNGAN KOMUNITAS SEBAGAI SOLUSI PERSOALAN PETANI KECIL DI INDONESIA
2024Catharina Any Sulistyowati, Suraya Afiff, Muhammad Baiquni, Mia Siscawati · Analisis Kebijakan Pertanian · Indonesia
This literature study, drawing on Scopus-indexed social science journal articles on community-supported agriculture (CSA) published between 1994 and 2022, examined CSA's potential to address problems facing small farmers in Indonesia, including low income, low productivity, crop failure, price fluctuation, infertile land and debt bondage. It identifies financing the transition from chemical to sustainable agriculture, access to land, farmers' quality of life and farmers' capacity as key elements on the production side, and consumer motivation and awareness, member contributions, member inclusiveness and member sustainability as key elements on the consumer-support side, concluding that supporting institutional development and policy is also essential.
CommunityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsStrategi Penguatan Petani Milenial Melalui Budidaya Microgreens di Desa Cipayung
2024Regita Fatya Azzahra, Muhammad Iqbal Nurulhaq, Leonard Dharmawan · JURNAL PENYULUHAN PEMBANGUNAN · Indonesia
A qualitative descriptive study with SWOT analysis of millennial farmers in Desa Cipayung, Indonesia, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture's young-farmer program. It aims to identify the potential and problems facing these farmers and to formulate a group-strengthening strategy and farm-development program. The study proposes strategies such as drawing on field agricultural extension officers to optimize use of available land and natural resources, applying best agricultural practices, and directing millennial farmer group members toward microgreens production to meet market demand.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDIYCreating Local “Citizen's Governance Spaces” in Austerity Contexts : Food Recuperation and Urban Gardening in Montréal (Canada) as Ways to Pragmatically Invent Alternatives
2024Laurence Bhérer, Pascale Dufour, Françoise Montambeault · Urban Affairs Review · Canada
A two-level analysis tracing the trajectory of urban gardening and dumpster diving/food recuperation practices in Montréal, Canada, from grassroots emergence to inclusion within institutional frameworks. Rather than treating citizen-led initiatives as either co-opted by formal institutions under austerity or as pure "spaces of resistance" to neoliberalism, the study shows that individuals and loosely organized collectives involved in these practices are embedded in complex relationships with local institutions and third-sector organizations, which in turn structure the practices and their consequences. It describes this institutionalization as occurring gradually, through practitioners' interactions with each other and with their social and institutional environment.
CommunityPolicyWelfareFood lossPenerapan Konsep Urban Farming Melalui Pemanfaatan Lahan Terbatas di Pemukiman Wilayah Perkotaan
2024Arta Kusumaningrum, Didik Widiyantono, Uswatun Hasanah, Dyah Panuntun Utami, Istiko Agus Wicaksono, Isna Windani · Surya Abdimas · Indonesia
Describes a community-service (pengabdian) activity introducing the concept of urban farming using limited urban residential space — pots arranged on walls and fences — to a Women Farmer Group (KWT) at Perum Pepabri Borokulon in Purworejo Regency, Indonesia. The activity combined secondary data collection, key-informant interviews, focus group discussion, extension training, implementation of urban farming, and monitoring and evaluation. It reports that urban farming proved suitable for implementation in this urban residential setting and that it could supply food at the household scale and increase household income for members of the women farmer group.
DIYCommunityWelfareDA VARANDA AO TELHADO: COMO A AGRICULTURA URBANA ESTÁ TRANSFORMANDO ESPAÇOS URBANOS
2024Raul Augusto Barroso, Otavio Neto · Revista Multidisciplinar do Nordeste Mineiro · Brazil
A literature review of scientific articles, established websites, books and magazines — searched online using keywords such as "urban agriculture," "urban gardens," "vertical gardens," "small-space agriculture" and "sustainable agriculture" — examined how urban agriculture is transforming urban spaces. An initial 622 related documents were identified and narrowed to the most recent (2021-2022), leaving 20 used in the analysis. The results show urban agriculture consolidating as a transformative force that shapes urban spaces beyond simple food production, providing both environmental and social benefits, promoting food security for participants and their communities, and making use of underused and often abandoned spaces.
CommunityPolicy