Research & reports

Veronica Barry · BCU Open Access Repository (Birmingham City University) · United Kingdom

This paper discusses the recognized link between spatial planning and public health, highlighting urban agriculture (UA), gardening, and food growing as contributors to healthier urban environments. It states that UA can benefit health at community and individual levels through land regeneration, while also supporting broader health policy development.

Wioletta Biel, Anna Jaroszewska · Scientia Agricola · Poland (Szczecin)

This study determined the nutritional value of leaves from four berry species (raspberry, blackberry, chokeberry, and sea buckthorn) collected from allotment gardens in Szczecin, Poland. Sea buckthorn leaves were the richest in protein, raspberry leaves in lipids, and all four were rich in crude and dietary fiber. The leaves showed desirable Ca:P and Na:K ratios, suggesting potential as mineral sources for bone formation and hypertension treatment, with sea buckthorn leaves also being a safe source of iron.

Fernando Richter Iturregui · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Spain (Basque Country)

This study aimed to understand the current significance of urban agriculture in Spain and the Basque Country as an emerging leisure experience and expanding social phenomenon. It employed a dual-pronged investigation, quantitative to assess the magnitude and qualities of urban agriculture in the Basque Country within the Spanish context, and qualitative to understand how users interpret the practice. The research sought to identify the characteristics describing urban agriculture as a leisure experience.

Jennifer Jackson · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United Kingdom (Lincoln)

This qualitative case study examined Green Synergy's community garden initiatives in Lincoln's Abbey Ward, UK, using observation, interviews, a focus group, and a workshop. It explored the social element of community gardening in building connections between social and natural capital. The study found that collaborative creation of green spaces fosters bonding and bridging social capital within communities and challenges narratives of individual and community capacity.

Sertaç Güngör · Journal of Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasa University · Turkey (Konya)

This study investigated the current state of gardens in 7 nursery schools in Selçuklu district, Konya city, Turkey, regarding landscape design and space usage. The findings revealed that the nursery school gardens were not used effectively, lacked sufficient green space in their landscape design, and were not properly designed to contribute to children's mental and physical development.

Ju Eun Kim · International Journal of Urban Sciences · United Kingdom (London)

This empirical research evaluated the role of London's community gardens in promoting participants' environmentally friendly food consumption patterns, thereby lowering London's foodprint. An online survey was circulated to 95 community gardens in London, with 48 gardeners responding, complemented by semi-structured interviews. The study confirmed that the timespan of community garden participation is not an absolute indicator of low-carbon food consumption choices, while identifying experiential and social learning as key aspects promoting gardeners' behavioral change.

Norbert Becker, Stefanie Schön, Alexandra‐Maria Klein, Ina Ferstl, Ali Kizgin, Egbert Tannich, Carola Kuhn, Björn Pluskota, Artur Jöst · Parasitology Research · Germany

The first mass development of Aedes albopictus, likely introduced by trucks from Italy, was confirmed in an allotment garden area in Freiburg, Southwest Germany, in 2015. Surveillance confirmed a high infestation, with the container index exceeding 30% in August 2015. Control measures, including citizen awareness, environmental management, and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) tablets, successfully reduced the Aedes albopictus population, with the number of gardens without containers increasing from 17% to 35% by September 2015.

Sima Pouya, Elif Bayramoğlu, Öner Demirel · Kastamonu University Journal of Forestry Faculty · Turkey

A study of the Doğan Çağlar Orthopedic Disabled School in Ankara Province, Turkey (2017) determined how outdoor space was used at the school and developed the main decisions for an environmental (landscape) design project addressing those uses. Face-to-face interviews with school management, teachers, and parents, plus a parent survey, examined contributions to children's physical, emotional, and social development according to disability type and degree. Following a process of problem identification, data collection (questionnaire and evaluation), field analysis of functions, and design master decisions, the study produced landscape-design suggestions for the school garden, highlighting the need to plan for different age groups and physical characteristics, to create spaces where children encounter nature and develop creativity, and to design school and garden spaces for children with disabilities differently from general spaces because their needs vary by disability type, both physically and psychologically.

Federica Larcher · Italus Hortus · Europe

The available abstract is a short fragment discussing air quality and the role of urban green space in supporting public education and wellbeing, and it notes that guidelines are also proposed for the planning and design of urban green space. No study population, method or measured results are given in the available text.

Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter J. Aspinall, Jenny Roe, Lynette Robertson, David Miller · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · United Kingdom

A cross-sectional survey of 406 adults in four deprived urban communities in Scotland, UK, investigated the relationship between green space access and health outcomes. While the amount of neighborhood green space and access to a garden or allotment were significant predictors of stress, social isolation and place belonging were found to be the strongest predictors of stress in three communities and of poor general health in the least healthy community. Physical activity, winter green space visits, and home views also predicted general health.

E.J. Veen, Petra Derkzen, B.B. Bock, A.J. de Visser, J.S.C. Wiskerke · Sociologie · Netherlands

This case study of a community garden in the Netherlands, used by three different groups, found that communities formed in such gardens are complex and multiple, not singular. While the garden served as a meeting space for two groups, strengthening internal cohesion, both groups categorized people as 'us' and 'them' based on residence. This strengthened their social identities and led to struggles over garden ownership, demonstrating that shared presence does not necessarily bridge social distances.

Margaret Pettygrove · UWM Digital Commons (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) · United States (Milwaukee)

This case study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, examines food procurement patterns among low-income residents and how local governance and political economic processes shape food environments. It uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies, drawing on spatial analytical and political ecological perspectives. The research critiques the "obesogenic environment thesis" by emphasizing other dimensions of food access beyond proximity to retail sources.

Ladina Knapp, E.J. Veen, H. Renting, J.S.C. Wiskerke, J.C.J. Groot · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Europe

This study assessed criteria for the successful establishment and continuity of 29 small-scale, bottom-up urban agriculture (UA) initiatives in the Netherlands and Switzerland, using a vulnerability analysis framework. Biophysical and socio-institutional criteria were analyzed through interviews with project leaders. Findings revealed that the vulnerability of UA systems strongly depends on local circumstances, with the main perturbations and causes of vulnerability originating from social-institutional and human conditions, such as the institutional sphere, local authority assistance, and project leaders' determination.

Madeleine A. Guerlain, Catherine Campbell · Journal of Social and Political Psychology · United Kingdom (East London)

This qualitative research explored the impact of community gardens on the psycho-social well-being of marginalized groups in East London, UK, and their role in prefigurative social change. Through interviews, Photovoice, and participant observation with 28 gardeners from four groups, findings suggest that participation is driven by the shared practice of gardening, leading to unintended benefits addressing personal adversities. Community gardens create "health-enabling social spaces" and offer an alternative understanding of prefiguration based on participants' lived experiences.

Giordano Ruggeri, Chiara Mazzocchi, Stefano Corsi · Sustainability · Italy (Milan)

This study investigated the motivations of urban gardeners in Milan, Italy, using multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. While urban gardening's multifunctionality is well-documented, individual motivations are less explored. The analysis revealed the significant importance of the social component in urban gardening and identified several distinct gardener profiles.

Eduardo De Miguel, Miguel Izquierdo‐Díaz, Amaia Gómez, Juan Mingot, Fernando Barrio‐Parra · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry · Spain (Madrid)

Forty-two soil samples from seven urban gardens in Madrid, Spain, were collected to measure concentrations of arsenic, antimony, and selenium, along with soil properties. Antimony concentrations exceeded recommended values for agricultural use in 70% of the urban gardens. A human health risk assessment indicated acceptable levels for noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks, though carcinogenic values were elevated, with arsenic identified as the main risk driver.

Catharine Ward Thompson, Peter Aspinall, Jenny Roe, Lynette Robertson · · United Kingdom

This cross-sectional survey investigated the relationship between access to green space and health outcomes (stress, general health) among 406 adults in four highly deprived urban communities in Scotland, United Kingdom. Social isolation and place belonging were the strongest predictors of stress in three communities and of poor general health in the fourth. The amount of green space in the neighborhood, particularly access to a garden or allotment, was a significant predictor of stress, while physical activity, frequency of winter green space visits, and views from home predicted general health.

Darya Hirsch, Christian H. Meyer, Johannes Klement, Martin Hamer, Wiltrud Terlau, Hirsch, Darya, Meyer, Christian, Klement, Johannes, Hamer, Martin, Terlau, Wiltrud · Publication Server of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences) · Germany

This paper presents an empirical case study on Urban AgriCulture initiatives in the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg region of Germany. It states that Urban AgriCulture is a niche movement with the potential to contribute significantly to urban development and constitute a pillar of urban quality of life.

Andrew Hursthouse, T. E. Leitão, Annette Voigt, Avigail Heller, Béatrice Bechet, Paulo Brito da Luz · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This chapter overviews factors influencing the chemical, physical, and biological status of soils, water, and the biosphere in urban allotment gardens. It highlights that urban garden soils, water, and biosphere are affected by pollution due to their location in city centers or suburbs, with traffic infrastructure and industrial zones widely identified as impacting soil and water quality. Concerns over long-term risks from pollutant transfer (mainly metals) from soil to plants in these uncontrolled environments have been widely publicized.

Krystyna Pudelska, Kamila Rojek · Teka Komisji Architektury Urbanistyki i Studiów Krajobrazowych · Poland

This case study examines the historic school and its adjoining park in the village of Sobieszyn, Ułęż County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, established at the end of the nineteenth century under the will of Count Kajetan Kanty Kicki. Located away from the village center on the slope of the Świnka, a tributary of the Wieprz River, the site continues to operate today as the Kajetan Kicki Agriculture School.

Duncan Stephen · · United Kingdom

A short report describes students studying Garden Design at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) visiting a North Edinburgh Community Garden, as part of preparation for Gardening Scotland, to better understand how green spaces can positively influence health and wellbeing.

· Agriculture and Human Values · Germany (Berlin)

A qualitative study from Berlin examining public perception and acceptance of agricultural production in and on urban buildings (ZFarming).

Jo Webber, Joe Hinds, Paul M. Camic · Ecopsychology · United Kingdom

A mixed-methods study surveyed 171 allotment gardeners in the United Kingdom to investigate the relationships between allotment gardening, feeling connected to nature, and well-being. Allotment gardeners' eudaimonic well-being and quality of life in the environmental domain were significantly higher than population means reported in the literature. However, the study found no association with subjective well-being.

Baptiste Grard, N. Bel, Marchal, Nicolas, Frédéric Madre, Jean‐François Castell, Philippe Cambier, Sabine Houot, Nastaran Manouchehri, Stéphane Besançon, Jean‐Charles Michel, Claire Chenu, Nathalie Frascaria‐Lacoste, Christine Aubry · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · France (Paris)

A 2012 pilot experiment in Paris, France, tested simple rooftop gardening systems using local urban organic waste as crop substrates. Measurements of production levels and heavy metal content in crops and substrates showed high crop production with limited inputs, low heavy metal pollutants in edible parts, and positive yield influence from layered substrates and earthworm inoculation. These results suggest rooftop gardening is feasible and has potential for urban resiliency, though further assessment of roof types, pollution levels, and sustainability is needed.

Piotr Godyń, Maria Zielińska, Agnieszka Dołhańczuk-Śródka, Zbigniew Ziembik · Geology Geophysics & Environment · Poland

Soil samples were collected from 19 sites around the Opole industrial zone in Poland to determine the influence of the local metallurgical industry on soil contamination with metals, using Pb-210 as a contamination tracer. Results indicated that the metallurgical industry is not a source of environmental pollution in the immediate vicinity. Excessive lead concentrations ranged from 1 Bq/kg d.m. to 100 Bq/kg d.m. but were not strongly correlated with distances from the presumed source of contamination.