Research & reports

Elza D’Cruz · Landscape Research · India

This study examines the disappearance of a historic urban agriculture landscape in Bangalore, India, between the 1950s and 1970s, a period of post-independence urban planning, drawing on urban planning documents, government files and oral histories recorded with the Vahnikula Kshatriya, a traditional urban agriculture practitioner community. It finds that colonial frameworks embedded in post-independence urban development plans not only displaced urban agriculture but continue to affect it, and argues for changing how urban planning in formerly colonised places approaches urban agriculture.

Meiling Wu · Sustainability · China

A study of a Sharing Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in China examined, through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, how external investment drives the conventionalization of alternative agriculture. The farm's low economic sustainability was the trigger that drew in external investment; investors then compelled the farm manager to relax adherence to organic agriculture's ecological values and principles and shift toward specialized, intensive farming to secure profitability, and a new business model was adopted that further entrenched this conventionalization.

Asaduddin Abdullah, Dikky Indrawan, Anggi Mayang Sari, Asep Rakhmat · Policy Brief Pertanian Kelautan dan Biosains Tropika · Indonesia

A policy brief on the urgency of developing innovative urban farming in Indonesia as a response to challenges in urban food security and nutrition. It discusses urban farming's role not only in increasing food availability but in achieving locally based nutritious food, preserving local wisdom, supporting a free nutritious food program, and contributing to poverty reduction and environmental quality. It states that implementation remains constrained by existing policy limitations, and calls for comprehensive policy change including integrating urban farming into urban spatial planning, building community capacity, and providing infrastructure, technology, and public awareness support.

Rahul B. Hiremath, Sheelratan S. Bansode · Practice, progress, and proficiency in sustainability · India

This book chapter examines the use of treated urban wastewater to support agricultural resilience in Indian cities amid rapid urbanization that strains water supplies for farming. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it evaluates current practices, policy frameworks and stakeholder engagement to assess the practicality and efficiency of incorporating treated wastewater into urban agricultural systems, addressing both the potential benefits and the difficulties involved rather than reporting a specific measured outcome.

Chengxiang Zi, D. Winterbottom, Juanjuan Liu · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China

Focusing on a well-preserved village of the Dong ethnic group in southwest China that maintains traditional livelihoods and a local food system, a study used field surveys, interviews and participatory mapping to propose an edible green infrastructure (EGI) model for traditional villages. The model comprises the "rice-fish-duck" cycle as the core of traditional livelihoods, a hierarchical ecological structure of "households-groups-village," and corresponding management models. By theoretically analyzing the EGI of traditional villages shaped over China's millennia-old agricultural civilization, the study aims to inform sustainable food-system and natural-resource-management knowledge, applying it to the construction of bio-districts in rural China.

Aji Saputra, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Gemilang Lara Utama · Local Environment · Indonesia

A commentary on the current state of urban agriculture implementation in large Indonesian cities, the initiatives underway and the mechanisms for pursuing stated goals. It identifies land scarcity, inadequate urban agricultural infrastructure, financial constraints, and regulatory and administrative problems as the major obstacles to implementation. It also states that urban agriculture improves quality of urban life by providing fresh, healthy food and fostering community engagement, and cites Singapore, New York and Ghana as examples showing the importance of policy support, innovation and community involvement.

Angga Mahardika Syahrul Putra, Jafron Wasiq Hidayat, Kasiyati · Prosiding SNAST · Indonesia

Against the backdrop of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia (32.85 sq km) having only 23.52% green open space coverage versus the legally required 30%, this study used a literature review method (journal articles, proceedings, government documents, regulations, and spatial data) to analyze the form and role of the city's Lorong Sayur ("vegetable alley") program. It found Lorong Sayur to be a form of vertical urban agriculture using land along alleys and neighborhood roads, with an ecological effect of minimizing non-organic waste and contributions to changing residents' lifestyles and improving socio-economic life.

Putri Balqis, Riski Wulandari, Muhammad Zulfandi · Jurnal Teknologi Cerdas · Indonesia

Reducing carbon emissions is a critical task in addressing global climate change, and establishing rooftop gardens in urban areas is presented as one approach that could be adopted. This paper is a literature review examining the environmental advantages of rooftop gardens, with particular focus on their capacity to mitigate carbon emissions. It reviewed diverse sources concerning rooftop garden implementation for carbon mitigation. The review states that rooftop gardens possess significant capacity to mitigate carbon emissions and address the challenges posed by climate change, though successful installation requires careful planning and a thorough understanding of environmental and technological aspects. Rooftop gardens are described as enhancing CO2 absorption, lowering surface temperatures, and decreasing building energy needs by improving thermal insulation, as well as contributing to improved air quality and urban biodiversity. The review identified numerous designs and best practices that could optimize the ecological and economic advantages of rooftop gardens, and points to the possibility of incorporating them into urban planning as an approach to addressing climate change and enhancing urban quality of life.

Aliifa Jenica Athaya Natama, Kadhung Prayoga, Siwi Gayatri · Agrisocionomics Jurnal Sosial Ekonomi Pertanian · Indonesia

A study of the Dahlia Farmers' Group in Semarang, Indonesia, using multiple linear regression to examine the role of social capital in urban farming success (survey conducted December 2023-January 2024). Norms — establishing standard operating procedures for members — played an important role in supporting success, while trust and networks proved less influential, since urban farming success depends more on management and knowledge than on interpersonal relationships. The study recommends the group strengthen norms through digital networks, mentorship, social activities, external partnerships and a reward system.

Wirda Rohmah, Marina Ramadhani, Ghulam Fathul Amri · Jurnal Bengawan Solo Pusat Kajian Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Surakarta · Indonesia

Using a literature-study method, this research examined food security conditions in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia — a rapidly urbanizing city — and their implications for urban sustainability and resilience, covering food availability, access, utilization, and stability. It found that urbanization in Surakarta has increased food demand, altered food supply chains, and created distribution and affordability challenges, with urban land-use change, economic inequality, and the effectiveness of existing food policies and programs identified as the main factors shaping food security, and argues for an integrated approach combining improved urban agriculture, strengthened local food systems, and better coordination among stakeholders.

Mochamad Yusuf · Al-Masharif Jurnal Ilmu Ekonomi dan Keislaman · Indonesia

Focused on agriculture — one of the strongest sectors supporting Indonesia's economy — this descriptive paper (2024) examines the readiness of Central Java Province, the country's third-largest producer of agricultural output, to build a green economy while adopting a nature-conservation blueprint. Using secondary data collected and analyzed into author-formulated recommendations, the paper finds Central Java is pursuing green-economy and circular-economy practice through the agriculture sector via organic crop cultivation, urban farming, farmers markets, and environmentally friendly agricultural-product education, and concludes that maximizing this implementation requires supporting government regulation/legislation together with societal practice.

Pawana 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.

Setyardi Pratika Mulya, Delik Hudalah · Regional Sustainability · Indonesia

This study assessed sustainability based on agricultural intensity in peri-urban villages of Karawang Regency, Indonesia, using a village agriculture index (VAI), a village sustainability index (VSI) adapted from a local sustainability index via factor analysis, and a logical matrix analysis for level of agricultural sustainability (LoAS). Peri-urban villages with high agricultural intensity tended to show lower social welfare and economic development and higher disaster risk; high agricultural intensity did not necessarily ensure prosperity, and economic disparity existed among villages, leading the study to conclude that encouraging diversity in agricultural intensity is more important than promoting agricultural intensity itself.

Yang Tingting · The World of Chinese · China

This article profiles Clover Nature School, led by Professor Yuelai Liu, which is converting abandoned urban spaces across China into community gardens. The initiative has established over 1,000 gardens nationwide, with Shanghai aiming for 2,040. In one Urumqi case, a neighboring restaurant's monthly revenue rose from 120,000 to 180,000 yuan after a garden was created.

Choi S.-W., Shin Y. J. · Sustainability (MDPI) · Korea

Uses input–output analysis to compare the production- and value-added-inducement ripple effects of Korean smart farms against conventional agriculture, demonstrating the economic impact of fourth-industrial-revolution, business-oriented smart farming on the national economy.

Wang L., Liu C., Lu N., Takagaki M. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7:973341 · China

Case study investigating China's plant factory and vertical farm industry, analyzing corporate deployment and challenges, and proposing policy and technical countermeasures to advance commercialization.

Xue H., Zhai Y., Su W.-H., He Z. · Agriculture (MDPI) 13(9), 1681 · China

Analyzes the governance response of China's urban food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing out from cases the disruption of rural-urban food distribution, the reality of administrative intervention and its challenges.

Purnomo D., Sitepu G.L., Nugraha Y.R., Rosiyan M.B.P. · Sustainability · Indonesia (Bandung)

Using a social metabolism framework derived from individual variables, this paper analyses urban farming activities in Bandung's Buruan SAE programme and finds that implementation paradoxically stifled agricultural development, with most groups unable to sustain activities beyond two years. The study reveals how top-down policy formulation undermines the emergence of independent urban farmers.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China (Beijing)

Examines the state and challenges of urban vegetable production in Beijing, China.

· Foods · China (Pearl River Delta)

Quantifies the foodshed and food self-sufficiency of the Pearl River Delta megacity region using land footprints, finding regional and urban self-sufficiency is not achievable.

Chang Y., Si Z., Crush J., Scott S., Zhong T. · Urban Governance · China (Wuhan, Nanjing)

Examines central, provincial, and municipal government responses to ensuring stable urban food supply during zero-COVID measures in Wuhan and Nanjing, China.

· Agriculture · China (Pearl River Delta)

A study classifying urban agricultural functional regions at the county level in the Pearl River Delta, China, and analyzing their carbon effects from 2002 to 2020.

· Frontiers of Engineering Management · China

A paper framing urban agriculture as nature-based solutions and proposing three key strategies to address food security in Chinese cities under climatic and non-climatic challenges.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · China

A study discussing how policymaking can support both migrant and native gardeners engaged in urban gardening in China.

· Land · China

Analyzes newspaper coverage of participatory urban gardening in China to examine how mass media promotes participatory landscape revitalization.