Research & reports

Lucy Diekmann, Summer Cortez, Pauline Marsh, Jonathan Kingsley, Monika Egerer, Brenda B. Lin, Alessandro Ossola · California Agriculture · United States (California)

A survey of 603 home and community gardeners across California was conducted between June and August 2020 to assess trends in gardening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gardens were valued as therapeutic spaces to escape pandemic stress and as safe outdoor places for socializing. Concerns about food supply led to increased interest in growing food for security and self-sufficiency, though 62% of home gardeners struggled to access gardening supplies.

Lianna Gomori-Ruben, Chantal D. Reid · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This study examined women farming in the United States to analyze if their practices align with agroecology, using the FAO’s 10 Elements of Agroecology and the TAPE tool. A mixed-methods case study design collected web-based survey and interview data from 87 participants. Participating women farmers tended to lead agroecological farming projects that provide direct nutritional, environmental, educational, and social services to their communities, aligning with FAO elements. Farm size and region were significant in the prevalence of agroecological practices; farms of 50–100 acres were most likely to integrate animals, and farms in the Southeast were most likely to identify with conventional agricultural practices.

Sean M. Crotty · California History · United States (California)

Pascale Joassart-Marcelli's book "The $16 Taco" examines how food and power intersect to create landscapes of hunger and plenty in U.S. cities, using San Diego as a case study. It argues for the centrality of food in broader structural issues of social, political, and cultural inequalities, which manifest as material inequality. The book explores the impacts of food apartheid, a system of segregation that prevents certain groups from accessing nourishment, and explains the role of racist real estate practices in devaluing neighborhoods of immigrants and people of color.

Maria Cecília Barreto Amorim Pilla, Cilene da Silva Gomes Ribeiro, Taciane Eloisa de Camargo · Ágora · Brazil

This research aims to analyze the historical, economic, and sociocultural processes that create the gender dimension within sustainable development and the emancipation of vulnerable women. It highlights that urban agriculture initiatives, such as community gardens, mobilize communities to transform degraded spaces into healthy ones, providing vegetables and fostering social interaction. The study emphasizes the need for women's inclusion in public policy to achieve legal, political, and social equality, thereby empowering them and reducing vulnerability.

Sarah Dimick · Critique Studies in Contemporary Fiction · United States (Minneapolis)

This study reflects on guerrilla gardening and its narratives by intersecting Eleanor Catton’s novel Birnam Wood with descriptions of gardens at police killing sites in the greater Minneapolis metro area. It argues that guerrilla garden infrastructures sprout in the soil of highly unequal power, often in the wake of the fatal exercise of state power, and in the shadow of a foreshortened environmental future. These are DIY infrastructures constructed by people weathering entwined environmental, political, and economic crises in the 21st century.

Rudra Dahal, Kamala Adhikari, Karen Tang · Journal of Community Medicine & Public Health · Canada

This paper discusses how record-high inflation rates and skyrocketing food prices in Canada exacerbate food insecurity, defined as inadequate food access due to financial constraints. Food insecurity is identified as a strong predictor of poor physical and mental health, higher mortality rates for those with chronic conditions, and increased healthcare utilization and costs. The paper suggests a comprehensive approach combining short-term solutions like community gardens and long-term policy interventions to address the root cause of inadequate income.

Patricia Mehner-Karam, C. Gutiérrez, Juan M. Casillas Pintor, Miranda Ori-Orlansino, D A Perez-DeLaMora, Mariana Ruiz-Morales, E. G. Hernández-Martínez · Journal of Advanced Agricultural Technologies · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study achieved the design and implementation of a raised bed urban garden to be tested in western neighborhoods of Mexico City. The project comprised four stages: design and development of the prototype garden, selection of a vegetable palette to promote immunonutrition, production of educational materials for planting and care, and validation. Urban gardens offering diverse plant species easy to grow in urban microclimates promote a sustainable culture by leveraging new technologies and virtual education, which help ensure their use and permanence.

Marcia Muñoz, Ventocilla, D., Fonseca , C., Pradel, W. · · Peru (Lima)

In 2022, Peru faced significant food insecurity, with 16.6 million Peruvians affected. The Institute of Development and Environment (IDMA) and the International Potato Center (CIP) organized an awareness campaign for World Food Day, focusing on agroecological family farming in Metropolitan Lima's Valleys. The campaign highlighted the role of small farmers in food production and the importance of urban agriculture in supplying common soup kitchens in low-resource areas.

Larissa Bizon, Marco Aurélio Soares de Castro · Revista AIDIS de Ingeniería y Ciencias Ambientales Investigación desarrollo y práctica · Brazil

This study aimed to address gaps regarding waste generated in aquaponics systems and their management practices in Brazil. A systematic review identified waste streams, and a survey of producers in 17 of Brazil's 27 federal units confirmed sludge, packaging waste, dead fish, and unusable plant fractions as typical waste streams. The survey indicated a lack of concern for in-depth assessment of these streams to improve management practices, which tended towards adequate and inadequate disposal.

Aldira Guimarães Duarte Domínguez, Diogo Isao Santos Sakai, Alba Evangelista Ramos, Camila Dias de Aragão, Erivan de Jesus Santos, Gleice Kelly Campelo Barbosa, Hisa Dutra Alves, Julia Maria de Oliveira Compan, Plácido Lima Ferreira Sobrinho, Satyam Bömer Dienstmann, Vinicius Araujo Gonçalves · LaSUS FAU eBooks · Brazil

This book presents the fundamentals of a multi-professional course in CTS (Science, Technology, and Society) developed within a graduate program at the University of Brasília. The course socially integrates four interdisciplinary themes: Habitat, Agroecology, Health, and Associated Work, aiming to form a transdisciplinary epistemological base in Solidarity Technoscience.

Samantha Bosco, Bradley G. Thomas · Ethnobiology Letters · United States

The Skarù·ręʔ (Tuscarora) Food Forest Project is a community-based initiative in ancestral Haudenosaunee territories (New York State) demonstrating the contemporary contributions of temperate nut trees to Indigenous food systems. This project aims to address social justice concerns in agricultural science by providing a methodological testing ground for reconciliation-based and decolonial participatory action research. It expands ongoing food sovereignty, community health, and education initiatives, highlighting nuts as important, yet lesser-known, woodland foods.

Perci Coelho de Souza, Letícia Miguel Teixeira, Cinthia Mariane Nolaço de Oliveira, Clarissa Sapori Avelar, Gabriel Ribeiro Couto, Geraldo Fábio Alves de Souza, Juliana Leal Santana, Kamila Dos Santos Pita, Sarah Lima Cirino · LaSUS FAU eBooks · Brazil

This book presents the fundamentals of a multidisciplinary CTS (Science, Technology, and Society) course developed within a graduate program at the University of Brasília, Brazil. The course socially and territorially integrates four interdisciplinary themes: Habitat, Agroecology, Health, and Associated Work. Offered in 2021, it integrated 15 master's and doctoral students with over 50 individuals from social movements, professionals, government technicians, researchers, and undergraduate students, forming a transdisciplinary epistemological base in Solidarity Technoscience.

Jaime Hernández-Garc'a, Tannya Pico Parra · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · South America

This chapter explores Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) in Bogotá, Quito, and Lima, three Andean cities, through a transdisciplinary lens. It discusses UPA as a multifunctional nature-based solution for climate change, food scarcity, and inequalities. The chapter examines the potentials and challenges of transdisciplinary projects in these cities, focusing on collaborative culture, conflicting rationalities, socio-ecological transformations, and critical translocalism, and highlights the contribution of diverse knowledge systems, including indigenous local knowledge.

Ianna Louise Araújo Chagas, Nathália Sá Alencar do Amaral Marques, Josimar Gurgel Fernandes · Pesquisa Agropecuária Pernambucana · Brazil (Itapissuma)

This study analyzed the development of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA) and its correlation with food and nutritional security in Itapissuma/PE, Brazil. Using satellite imagery, cartographic bases, geoprocessing software, and semi-structured interviews, the research identified UPA units and collected socioeconomic data. The findings revealed that Itapissuma's UPA receives frequent technical assistance, enabling its development and diversification, and ensuring that the interviewed community does not experience food insecurity.

Alexandre Túlio Amaral Nascimento, Tais Silva Lomba, Elvira Peruhype de Aguilar, Ana Flávia Ribeiro Evangelista, Henrique Lua Santos Ferreira · REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE AGROECOLOGIA · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This study investigated how agroecological urban agriculture production in Belo Horizonte and its metropolitan region utilizes available legal instruments and public policies. The research involved a literature review, identification and contact with local institutions, and an electronic questionnaire that received 34 responses. Findings highlighted the vitality of associations, the importance of national policies (PNAE, PRONAF) and territorial strategies (SPG, CSA), and the relevance of local instruments like Trilha da Agroecologia and Rede Sisal.

Manoj Misra · Culture Agriculture Food and Environment · Canada

A qualitative study of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) participants in the greater Edmonton region of Canada examined how this local food initiative promotes ecological citizenship. The study concluded that discursive and structural limitations prevent the Edmonton CSA community from achieving meaningful diversity and addressing social justice concerns within its realm.

Nehiby Alcántara Nieves, Rosa María Larroa Torres · Iztapalapa(en línea)/Iztapalapa · Mexico (Mexico City)

This article identified agroecological practices in 10 urban gardens (hu) in Mexico City and their relationship with the construction of food citizenship. Data was collected through interviews with garden managers and users, and participant observation. The study found a tendency to prioritize responsibilities over rights within these urban gardens.

Charles Achcar Chelala, Cláudia Maria do Socôrro Cruz Fernandes Chelala · DELOS Desarrollo Local Sostenible · Brazil

This article analyzes the urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Macapá, Amapá, Brazil, focusing on existing commercialization channels to identify the relationship between urban food production and city supply. The study aimed to pinpoint difficulties, limitations, and expansion capacity of UPA. It concludes that despite a diversity of accessible channels for UPA, short commercialization channels like direct sales and open-air markets remain the primary outlets for production, indicating challenges in expanding commercialization beyond these traditional methods.

Pedro Sorrentino, Maria Carolina Maziviero · arq urb · Brazil (Curitiba)

This article reflects on a new perspective on the right to the city, aiming to reframe the relationship between humanity and nature to overcome the current civilizational crisis. It presents the contributions of urban agriculture practices in Curitiba, Brazil, highlighting advancements towards the right to the city and a new land culture, along with their challenges and potential.

Cleber José Bosetti · Revista Desenvolvimento Social · Brazil

An empirical study was conducted at the Federal University of Santa Catarina's Rural Sciences Center in Curitibanos, Brazil, to evaluate urban agriculture's potential for value generation and food security improvement. The study involved cultivating a 5m² garden for one year using biodynamic agricultural management, followed by accounting for production factors and economic viability analysis. Results indicated that urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to food security and that its practices, under resilient agricultural management, are also economically viable.

Mayra I. Rodríguez González, Christian Kelly Scott, Tatiana Marquina, Demeke B. Mewa, Jorge García Polo, Binbin Peng · Earth Interactions · Mexico

This mixed-method study in Mexico City, Mexico, explored urban agriculture's (UA) role as an alleviation and land management strategy, integrating ecosystem services and livelihoods frameworks. It quantified food production, crop diversity, six ecological processes, cultural benefits, and contributions to livelihood capitals. UA supported ecological processes, connected humans to nature, and provided supplemental income, but also showed trade-offs between ecological processes, limits in promoting formal education beyond agroecological knowledge, and an inability to fully lift families out of poverty.

Ana Tereza Souza Domingos, Carolina Oliveira Mesquita, Emiliano Lôbo de Godoi, Thiago Augusto Mendes · Laws · Brazil

This bibliographical and documentary research analyzed the effectiveness of public food security policies in Brazil between 2012 and 2022, also considering urban agriculture as an alternative. It concluded that public policies were gradually weakened, and from 2019 to 2022, the Brazilian government discouraged food policy implementation. Consequently, Brazil faces food insecurity and hunger due to disjointed policies, the pandemic, and an economic crisis.

Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão, Roberta Moraes Curan, Paulo Eduardo Moruzzi Marques · Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional · Brazil (São Paulo)

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had major impacts on the world's population, and concerns about food supply — particularly for the most vulnerable populations — gained prominence among international bodies, Brazilian public institutions, researchers and civil society (2023). Difficulty responding to the crisis, especially misalignment of buffering measures across levels of Brazilian government and compounded by threats to democracy, produced a picture of absent effective public planning for food and nutrition security. In this context, urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP), combined with food solidarity initiatives, emerged as a strategic means of food access in the most vulnerable urbanized regions, while allowing farmers to maintain their income. This article examines different food supply actions in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, at the peak of the pandemic, focusing especially on new dynamics among seven urban and peri-urban farmers representative of the situation in São Paulo's main production regions. Beyond social coordination among different solidarity groups in the municipality, the article highlights the role of short, proximity-based distribution circuits in sustaining local production and ensuring food consumption for food-insecure populations, amid a marked shortage of emergency food and nutrition security policies.

Heather Kirk-Ballard, Kristine M. Lang, Esther McGinnis, Kerry Smith, Lucy Bradley · HortTechnology · United States

The 2021 Extension Master Gardener (EMG) National Summary reported an estimated 84,700 volunteers across the United States, who helped communities grow food, supported physical and mental health activities, worked on environmental projects, and together contributed 3.1 million hours of education worth $88 million to the public. The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges for the program, prompting many states to reduce requirements and increase flexibility for volunteers; a 2022 ASHS conference workshop shared strategies from three Extension educators and EMG coordinators on engaging volunteers in local food systems and community gardens despite limited in-person contact.

Sabine O’Hara · · United States

A book chapter introduces the people behind new urban agriculture and food systems innovations emerging in cities across the United States. These innovators come from all walks of life, and the ways they envision and implement more decentralized urban and peri-urban food systems are as varied as the people themselves. Their stories raise questions about which food systems innovations are most likely to create win-win outcomes of improved food security and improved sustainability. A transformation of the conventional food system is already under way, even in cities with less than optimal growing conditions, but much more remains to be done.