Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
11393 results(74 / 456)
Co-producing space and ‘worker-peasant’ labourers: urban-agricultural integration in Panzhihua during the Third Front
2025Lizhi Lu, Jue Cai · Planning Perspectives · China
A historical analysis of the Third Front period (1960s-70s) in China examines urban-agricultural integration in the industrial city of Panzhihua. Factory-operated agriculture established a labor pattern combining industrial and agricultural tasks that partially sustained workers, but the article notes this also produced tensions in worker identity and friction with external realities. The analysis is based on examining urbanization's characteristics and the interplay between individuals and their environment during this period.
Urban–rural linkageImproving Access to Healthy Foods in Gonzales
2025Rodriguez, Eliza · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States
A community outreach and education project in Gonzales, California, was implemented by the organization Savor the Local in partnership with the City of Gonzales and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, aiming to raise awareness of healthy eating and identify barriers to accessing nutritious food among the city's working-class residents. Activities included distributing an informational pamphlet, a follow-up survey, and support for a community garden and healthy cooking classes. Eight survey participants reported a better understanding of the importance of healthy eating and helped identify some reasons residents were not easily accessing healthy foods; the project reported meeting its goals of increasing awareness and gathering feedback on food-access barriers.
CommunityHealthWelfareCuba and the Republic of Korea: The Potential of Scientific Diplomacy in Food Security and Sovereignty on the Shared Path Toward Sustainable Development
2025Sunamis Fabelo Concepción, Elizabeth Peña Turruellas, Maruchi Alonso Esquivel · Latin American and Caribbean Studies · Global
A discussion piece examines opportunities for cooperation on food security and sovereignty between Cuba and the Republic of Korea following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It highlights the importance of a legal framework recognizing healthy, adequate nutrition as a fundamental right, and identifies urban agriculture — an area of success for both nations — as a key strategy for pursuing sovereign, local, and sustainable food systems. The piece frames this as an opening for scientific diplomacy grounded in mutual respect and long-term partnership, presenting no empirical data or measured outcomes.
Food sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityCommodification of urban sustainability projects: urban gardening in Gothenburg as a collaborative practice or a risky and individualised career opportunity
2025Ylva Wallinder · Local Environment · Europe
A study of Gothenburg, Sweden, examines the city council's shift over the past decade from associational (collective) urban gardening toward entrepreneurial gardening on municipal land, promoted through a scheme called "from garden box to hectare" that draws residents into entrepreneurial training while taking municipal gardening classes. Analyzing the consequences of this commodification of urban sustainability projects, the study finds that socio-economic resources and social relations both limit and strengthen entrepreneurial gardening practices and participants' quality of life, and that perceived competition among gardeners has turned urban gardening into a lonely, precarious, and individualized activity compared with the formalized associational gardening the municipality previously promoted. The finding points to a mismatch between the local government's sustainability visions and gardeners' actual experience.
Equity & displacementCommunityEconomicsPolicyUtilizing kitchen waste for producing horticultural crops on rooftops: An overview
2025ER Ramesh Chand, Ridhima Arya, Ravi Pratap Singh, Devi Singh, Vedant Singh · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research · Global
A review article surveys evidence on rooftop vegetable farming's ability to absorb carbon and noise, lower air temperatures on and around roofs, and reduce urban heat-island effects, alongside using composted kitchen waste as a substitute for mineral fertilizers. It cites prior research showing compost can raise soil moisture content, decrease soil erosion, and help manage pests, weeds, and diseases, in place of mineral insecticides and fertilizers currently used in some urban rooftop gardens. The review notes rooftop gardening is a relatively new concept in Bangladesh and is intended to support further study of the practice there.
CompostDIYClimate changeInnovations in Asia: Making Organic Agriculture More Sustainable
2025Shaikh Tanveer Hossain · Organic Eprints (International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems, and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture) · Asia
A report by Dr. Hossain discusses the transformation of organic farming through technological, ecological, and social innovation, citing examples including precision farming, community supported agriculture, biological pest control, and digital traceability systems. Case studies of an organic sack-garden for household nutrition, integrated rice-duck farming for pest control and soil health, and a Zero Energy Cold Chamber (ZECC) for post-harvest storage are described as demonstrating low-cost, replicable models that improved smallholders' incomes and sustainability. The report cites the Asian Productivity Organization's "Green Productivity" framework as linking productivity gains with environmental stewardship across the Asia-Pacific region.
Organic cycleFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsDisentangling metropolis-city relationships in the governance of sustainability transitions: An in-depth exploration of the case of Rouen, France
2025Ouiam Fatiha Boukharta, Loïc Sauvée, Fabiana Pena-Fabri, Leticia Chico-Santamarta, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia · Cities · France
In Rouen, France, a two-level urban agriculture governance system—the metropolitan authority and the City of Rouen—was examined through 19 semi-structured interviews with project stakeholders. The two levels shared similar approaches to social aspects, education, fresh produce consumption, and the goal of long-term project viability, but differed in project selection criteria: the metropolis applied less strict requirements than the city regarding plot size and soil analysis.
PolicyCommunityGo Green Program Management In Community-Based Environmental Conservation In Kampung Wisata Glintung
2025Ayu Amanda Sulistiana, Titik Akiriningsih, Made Prasta Yostitia Pradipta · JELAJAH Journal of Tourism and Hospitality · Indonesia
A descriptive qualitative study—based on observation, interviews, and documentation—examined community empowerment and environmental management practices in Kampung Glintung Go Green, a community-based tourism village in Malang City, Indonesia. It found organizing structures, training and education, active participation, cooperative and local-economy support, awareness campaigns, monitoring and evaluation systems, and partnership-building; environmental management incorporating urban farming promotion improved environmental quality and community awareness, but the study identified needs to strengthen education, partnerships, technology use, regular evaluation, and promotional efforts going forward.
CommunityPolicySprouting hydro-cities to feed urban communities: are they sustainable?
2025Krishna R. Reddy, Jaqueline Rojas Robles, Suzane A. V. Carneiro, Banuchandra Nagaraja · Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science · United States (Chicago)
Using an existing hydroponics system in Chicago as a case study, this life cycle assessment (environmental impact via SimaPro, social and economic sustainability via a semi-quantitative approach) compared a hypothetical scaled hydroponics system against a scaled community garden serving the same number of users in the same area. The results show hydroponics systems present greater sustainability challenges than community gardens overall, though a hydroponics system incorporating LED lights was found to be more sustainable than the community garden; the authors call for future research to more accurately assess the differences between the two models.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityEconomicsCircular urban agriculture: Food waste-derived fertilizers lead to comparable yields in a tomato greenhouse experiment
2025Sarah Kakadellis, Herman D. Delgado, Russell Teall, R. Gándara León, Christopher W. Simmons, Edward S. Spang · Journal of Agriculture and Food Research · Global
This greenhouse experiment tested liquid food waste-derived digestate (FWDD) as a biofertilizer for community learning gardens, growing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) under four treatments: potting medium alone, medium with synthetic mineral fertilizer, medium with compost, and medium with a compost-FWDD blend. The mineral-fertilizer control produced the highest total fruit yield, but total edible fruit yield and total fruit weight were similar between the control and the compost-FWDD blend, which produced the largest average fruit weight; compost and compost-FWDD treatments produced lighter, tarter—though not more acidic—tomatoes, and no detrimental soil effects from FWDD were observed, though the authors note further research is needed to assess social perceptions and life cycle impacts.
Organic cycleCompostCommunityFirst records of the non-native ants Monomorium carbonarium (Smith, 1858) and Cardiocondyla mauritanica Forel, 1890 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Madrid, Spain, with an update of Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868) presence in the city
2025Diego López-Collar, Pietro Agostini, Francisco J Cabrero-Sañudo · DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) · Europe
This study reports the first records of two non-native ant species, Monomorium carbonarium (1858) and Cardiocondyla mauritanica (1890), within the urban area of Madrid, Spain, along with updated occurrence records for the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). These detections are mostly associated with irrigated green spaces—public parks, private gardens, urban orchards, and landscaped medians—and confirm that Mo. carbonarium and C. mauritanica are established in the city, extending their known Iberian distributions beyond coastal areas into the interior, while new Li. humile records point to its persistent, patchy distribution across Madrid.
BiodiversityPollinatorsEvaluating the Economic Feasibility of Hydroponics in Urban Agriculture at Kathmandu, Nepal
2025Usha Baniya, Sachin Khaniya, Rojan Karki · Nepalese Journal of Agricultural Sciences · Asia
This review paper positions hydroponics—a soilless cultivation technique—as a method of urban agriculture addressing confined land availability, food security, and environmental concerns from urbanization, focused on Kathmandu, Nepal. It synthesizes existing insights on setup costs, operational challenges, and profitability against global trends and local constraints, and, framing setup costs and operational challenges as barriers to adoption, recommends subsidies, training, and integration into urban planning as pathways to foster the uptake of hydroponic farming.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPeri-urban agriculturePenerapan Metode Pembelajaran Aktif Melalui Praktik Budidaya Microgreen di SDN Terusan 1
2025Amelya Bella, Melinda Putri Sukmana, Aril Rada Candra, Riski Mahatir Tharuddin, Briliana Fara Ardiyanti, Rinjani Intan Maylani · Jurnal Aplikasi Sains dan Teknologi Agrisevika · Indonesia
At SDN Terusan 1 elementary school in Terusan Village, Gedeg District, Mojokerto Regency, Indonesia, a community service program run by the Faculty of Agriculture student executive board of UPN "Veteran" East Java introduced and taught microgreen cultivation—mustard greens (sawi), pakcoy, and water spinach (kangkung)—to build students' understanding of urban farming. Through socialization, discussion, and hands-on cultivation practice covering planting, care, and nutritional benefits, the program reported active student participation in the cultivation practice, improved practical skills, and increased student awareness of the importance of consuming fresh vegetables.
Food educationCommunityDIYEstratégias para a produção resiliente de alimentos em centros urbanos
2025Carolina Ceci Moino Alves Theodoro, Marcelo de Andrade Roméro · Caderno Pedagógico · Brazil
Drawing on an analysis of recent crises in Brazil—transportation strikes, floods, prolonged droughts, the pandemic, currency fluctuations, and international conflicts—that exposed fragilities in the food supply chain leading to food insecurity, food deserts, and shortage risk, this study proposes urban food self-sufficiency strategies using nationally and internationally recognized urban agriculture techniques. It examined hydroponic cultivation and vertical farms through technical site visits, literature review, and interviews with managers and nutritionists, defining the built and cultivable area needed to guarantee a minimum survival diet for an estimated population, and, given the relevance of energy consumption to final food cost, incorporated solar power installations sized to different demand levels to reduce grid dependence; the plan was conceived initially as an alternative system with potential to evolve into a redundant, mitigating system.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsUrban Farming: Hydroponic Alternative Solution to Utilize Narrow Land to Increase Food Security in the Islands
2025Dian Prihardini Wibawa, Ayu Wulandari, Herry Marta Saputra · Wikrama Parahita Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia
A community outreach program in Jerambah Gantung Village, Pangkalpinang City, Indonesia, trained the 12-member Kenanga Women's Farmers Group in hydroponic urban farming through socialization, training, and mentoring. Average pre-test to post-test scores rose from 70 to 95, and harvest yield increased 37 percent, from 35 kg in the first harvest to 48 kg in the second.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsCommunityOral bioaccessibility trends for As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in vegetables grown in contaminated soils: A systematic review
2025Jennifer Newell, Siobhan Cox, Rory Doherty · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Global
A systematic review synthesized literature on the oral bioaccessible fraction (BAF) of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and lead in vegetables grown on contaminated soils, drawing values from multiple online databases across potentially toxic elements (PTEs), in vitro test methods, and vegetable types. The review starts from the premise that many urban and peri-urban brownfield sites carry a legacy of soil metal and metalloid contamination, so crops grown there may pose human health risks. Median PTE BAFs ranked Cd > Ni > Cr > As > Pb; among in vitro methods, the unified BARGE method (UBM) produced the highest median BAFs (63.0% gastric, 59.6% gastrointestinal); and by crop type, BAFs ranked non-vegetables (e.g., rice, fungi) > legumes > root vegetables > bulb vegetables > leafy vegetables.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agriculturePolicyAGRICULTURA URBANA COMO RESISTÊNCIA: ANÁLISE ENTRE A REVOLUÇÃO VERDE E AS ALTERNATIVAS AGROECOLÓGICAS
2025Anderson Luis Ferreira · Revista fisio&terapia. · Brazil
A qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study based on bibliographic and documentary review examines urban agriculture as a socio-environmental alternative to the contradictions of the Green Revolution. Drawing on classic and contemporary national and international literature and reports from multilateral bodies such as the FAO and UN-Habitat, it characterizes the Green Revolution as having raised agricultural productivity while deepening social inequality, homogenizing crops, and causing serious environmental impacts. It positions urban agriculture as valuing production diversity, strengthening community autonomy, and fostering new forms of sociability, concluding that examples across different contexts converge in strengthening food sovereignty, social inclusion, and urban sustainability.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsEnhancing urban waste sustainability through community-driven composting in São Paulo megacity
2024Amato-Lourenço L.F., Franca G.C., Seckler M.M., Mauad T. · Environmental Challenges, 14:100864 · Brazil
An analysis of a resident-led, decentralized community composting initiative begun in 2018 in São Paulo, using thermophilic decomposition (the UFSC method) in public squares. It presents a civil-society-driven waste-management model with positive environmental and social outcomes.
CompostOrganic cycleCommunityPolicyCurbing household food waste and associated climate change impacts in an ageing society
2024Shigetomi Y., Ishigami A., Long Y., Chapman A. · Nature Communications, 15:8987 · Japan
Demonstrates that per-capita household food waste in Japan rises with the age of the household head, reaching roughly three times higher for those 70+ than for those under 30, with correspondingly large differences in food-waste-related greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights the need for age-targeted food-loss reduction strategies in an ageing society.
Food lossOrganic cyclePolicyEconomicsThe impact of gardening on well-being, mental health, and quality of life: an umbrella review and meta-analysis
2024Panțiru I., Ronaldson A., Sima N., Dregan A., Sima R. · Systematic Reviews (Springer), 13:45 · Global
An umbrella review and meta-analysis comparing prior reviews of diverse gardening interventions, including home, allotment, community, and therapeutic gardening. Synthesizing 40 studies, it finds a significant positive effect of gardening and horticultural therapy on well-being, quality of life, and health status.
HealthWelfareCommunityLearning with compost: digging down into food waste, urban soils and community
2024Edwards F., Mercer H. · Local Environment (Taylor & Francis), 29(10) · Global
An ethnographic study of ShareWaste, an online community-composting platform in Sydney and Canberra that connects food-waste donors directly with households hosting compost heaps to divert waste from landfill. Drawing on environmental humanities and discard studies, it explores the relationships among people, soil, compost, and food waste and the community-building these practices foster.
CompostOrganic cycleFood lossCommunityCommunity garden management for resilient cities: A case study in suburban Tokyo during the COVID-19 pandemic
2024Shimpo N. · Landscape and Urban Planning, 251:105148 · Japan
Analyses how a suburban-Tokyo community garden (Seseragi Garden, Hino City) was managed for resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gardeners proactively set rules through discussion and sustained activity, helping maintain food security, physical and mental health, ikigai and social networks, thereby contributing to community resilience.
CommunityHealthWelfarePolicy農福連携等推進ビジョン（2024改訂版）
2024· 農福連携等推進会議（内閣官房） · Japan
Government vision (2019, revised 2024) promoting noufuku—agriculture-welfare collaboration enabling people with disabilities to participate in society through farming—as national policy, covering awareness, training, facility support, and market expansion via certification.
WelfarePolicyHealthCommunityEconomics民間企業が参入するコミュニティガーデンの可能性と運営課題
2024· 都市計画報告集 23巻3号 pp.429- · Japan
A report analyzing the potential and operational challenges of community gardens run or entered by private companies, discussing sustainable management models for company-partnered citizen gardens in housing complexes and neighborhoods and their contribution to community formation.
CommunityEconomicsPolicy令和5年度スマートシティ実装化支援事業 報告書（柏の葉スマートシティコンソーシアム）
2024柏の葉スマートシティコンソーシアム, 国土交通省 都市局 · 国土交通省 都市局（スマートシティ実装化支援事業 報告書） · Japan
An MLIT support-program report documenting the implementation of Kashiwanoha Smart City, advanced by Mitsui Fudosan as co-developer through public-private-academia collaboration (UDCK). It covers the implementation and evaluation of resident-participatory initiatives across health, community and data use.
CommunityHealthPolicy