Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
1993 results(9 / 80)
Setting the Field: An Analytical Framework to Assess the Potential of Urban Agriculture
2025Valentina Manente, Silvio Caputo, Flavio Lupia, Giuseppe Pulighe, Jaime Hernández García · Land · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study developed and applied a GIS-based spatial analytical framework to assess the potential of urban agriculture in Bogotá, Colombia, considering varying productivity levels for four urban food garden types: Home, Community, Educational, and Commercial. Data on produce yield, resource use, and social benefits were collected from a sample of urban food gardens. Results indicated that 25% of Bogotá’s surface area possesses suitable physical and social conditions for food growing, with Home Gardens occupying the largest share of suitable land, suggesting that land availability is not a key limiting factor for urban agriculture expansion.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyCatalogue on innovative governance practices and recommendations
2025Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Walthall, Beatrice, Parisi, Anton, Schröter, Barbara, Gallagher-Squires, Charlotte, Cuevas Garcia Dorado, Soledad, López García, Daniel · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
This catalogue, part of the FOODCITYBOOST project, provides a guide for integrating urban agriculture (UA) into city and spatial planning, focusing on governance and policy. It evaluates UA governance practices based on policy integration and multi-stakeholder approaches. The catalogue highlights "good practices" informed by research and empirical evidence, addressing challenges identified by FOODCITYBOOST living labs, and emphasizes that UA policies, instruments, and interventions vary widely by location, making common models challenging to identify due to context-specific factors.
PolicyCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityThe Rise of Urban Agriculture and Its Implications for Food Systems
2025Godswill Ntsomboh Ntsefong · IntechOpen eBooks · Global
This chapter examines the global growth and implications of urban agriculture. While urban agriculture enhances food security, it also introduces food safety risks from contaminated soils and infrastructure gaps. Challenges related to heavy metals, waste, and inadequate land planning are evaluated, and barriers such as land access and limited training for producers persist.
Contamination & food safetyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthEconomicsPolicyClimate changePENERAPAN PENANAMAN DENGAN METODE HIDROPONIK SISTEM WICK (SUMBU) KEPADA MAHASISWA UNTUK MENINGKATKAN PEMAHAMAN CARA MENANAM
2025Fadilla Siska Tiara, Eva Maria Sulastri · BUDIMAS JURNAL PENGABDIAN MASYARAKAT · Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
Training on planting mustard greens using the hydroponic wick system was conducted for students of Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang and University Teknologi Mara at the AU2 Keramat Community Garden in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The training aimed to improve understanding and skills in hydroponics, raise awareness of vegetable consumption, and foster an entrepreneurial spirit. Pre- and post-tests showed significant improvement in participants' knowledge regarding hydroponics benefits, planting media, and wick system manufacturing techniques.
Food educationDIYCommunityDigital agricultureThe purpose of the school garden is more than just growing plants
2025Jelka Strgar, Gregor Torkar, Simona Strgulc Krajšek · Journal of Biological Education · Slovenia
A study surveyed Slovenian lower and upper secondary school teachers regarding their interest in plants and attitudes towards ecosystem services provided by school gardens. Teachers showed high interest in plants and held positive attitudes towards school garden ecosystem services, including education, habitat and regulatory services, relaxation, and plant cultivation. A positive correlation was found between teachers' interest in plants and their attitudes towards these services, indicating Slovenian teachers recognize the importance of school gardens in education.
Food educationBiodiversityCommunityCodesigning More-than-Human Ecosystems with Social and Environmental Systems: The Gamification of NetWall and BioDiveIn
2025Marie Davidová, María Claudia Valverde Rojas, Hanane Behnam · Land · Global
This study explored the integration of gamification into social and environmental systems to enhance urban biodiversity and foster the co-creation of ecosystems. It focused on developing tangible ecosystemic interventions, such as habitat extensions and edible landscapes, and gamifying these interventions to engage communities. The interventions were codesigned using systems-oriented design methods, including gigamapping and prototyping, to produce scalable DIY solutions that empower communities to replicate these practices.
CommunityBiodiversityDIYFood educationUrban Gardens as a Strategy to Confront the Food Emergency Crisis in Argentina
2025Francisco Tomatis, Ana María Bonet de Viola, Ulises Reno, Ouiam Fatiha Boukharta, Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia · · Argentina
In Argentina, public policies like the Argentine Plan Against Hunger and the ProHuerta Program have stimulated urban agriculture to address the food emergency crisis in early 2024. Despite urban gardening being recognized as a crisis-addressing strategy, the existence and future forms of public policies supporting urban gardens remain uncertain amid recent national political changes. Several barriers to integration and consolidation of these programs are highlighted.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsWelfareCommunitySmall Scale–Big Impact: Temporary Small-Scale Architecture as a Catalyst for Community-Driven Development of Green Urban Spaces
2025Diana Giurea, Vasile Gherheș, Claudiu Coman · Sustainability · Global
This paper explores temporary small-scale architecture as a catalyst for community-driven development of green urban spaces, using the Greenfeel Architecture wooden pavilion as a case study. The pavilion, built with reused materials, was designed to provide shelter and facilitate social interactions while protecting existing vegetation and enhancing biodiversity. Since its completion, it has hosted various outdoor activities and educational workshops, demonstrating the potential of temporary architecture for physical and socio-cultural sustainability in urban environments.
CommunityBiodiversityPollinatorsDIYUrban Greenery and Urban Agriculture
2025Ariva Sugandi Permana · · Global
This article describes urban greenery and urban agriculture as components of modern city planning, outlining their roles in environmental sustainability, food security, and public health. Urban greenery is presented as improving air quality and reducing the urban heat island effect, while urban agriculture is noted for enabling local food production and fostering community engagement. The text also discusses their benefits for mental health, carbon sequestration, and economic development, emphasizing the need for policies and regulations.
CommunityPolicyHealthClimate changeMultimodal Analysis of Emotional and Visual Responses to Urban Green Spaces in Virtual Environments
2025Chong Liu, Tzu-Yang Wang, Takaya Yuizono · IEEE Access · Global
A study with 60 participants examined emotional and visual responses to urban green spaces (UGSs) in immersive virtual environments using multimodal sensing. Participants experienced 360° simulations of urban parks, community gardens, and ecological wetlands, with data collected via electrodermal activity, pulse rate, eye-tracking, and self-reported emotions. Results indicated that landscape elements significantly influenced both visual behavior and emotional responses, with herb plants enhancing attention and positive emotions, flowering trees eliciting arousal while promoting relaxation, and artificial objects yielding limited emotional benefits.
CommunityHealthPotencialización de la sostenibilidad ecológica y el desarrollo del eje temático Competencias para la vida, propuesto por el Ministerio de Educación Pública, a través de un huerto
2025Murillo, Ivannia · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Global
This article highlights the importance of school gardens as experiential teaching resources for learning processes and their social impact through the participation of the educational community and families. It also reflects on the need for quality education and appropriate professional training to meet educational needs, emphasizing the role of life skills as promoted by the National Qualifications Framework and the Ministry of Public Education.
Food educationCommunityOrganic cycleApproaching the study and understanding of urban agriculture from a systemic perspective
2025Juan Camilo Fontalvo-Buelvas, Oswaldo Rahmses Castro-Martínez · Horticulture International Journal · Global
This essay aimed to analyze the contributions of systems thinking to the understanding and management of urban agriculture. Three analytical domains—physical, biophysical, and human-biophysical—were examined, and teleomatic, teleonomic, and teleological processes were discussed as explanatory frameworks for the internal dynamics of urban gardens. The essay concludes that a holistic systems perspective enables a deeper understanding of the structure, emergent properties, and functional dynamics of urban agriculture.
PolicyCommunityOrganic cycleClimate changeCHAPTER 1 ORIGINS
2025Celia Plender · Berghahn Books · Global
During an eviction attempt at the Pullens Estate, squatters rained down rotten apples, vegetable peelings, and manure from a local city farm on police and bailiffs. To delay the eviction, stairwells and many flat doors were blocked with boards, steel, barbed wire, or concrete blocks, and door numbers were painted over. By noon, only sixteen of the thirty planned squat evictions had been completed.
CommunityPolicyUrban–rural linkageConviviality and commoning
2025Andrea Vetter, Matthias Fersterer · · Global
This chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Degrowth (2025) examines the concepts of 'conviviality' and 'commoning' from a degrowth perspective. Conviviality refers to the quality of relationships between humans and non-humans, while commoning involves organizing these relationships. The authors use examples like composting toilets and community-supported agriculture to illustrate the potential of these concepts to foster prefigurative politics and direct action.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceՙՙUrban Agriculture and Sustainable Communities՚՚: An Analytical Study of Urban Agriculture as a Tool for Achieving Food Security and Sustainability in Modern Cities
2025dalia shalaby eldamaty, Ahmed Mahmoud Nagi · التصميم الدولية · Global
This analytical study discusses urban agriculture as a tool for food security and sustainable development in cities. It reviews the benefits of urban agriculture, including improved environmental quality, enhanced local economy, and increased social interaction. The research analyzes successful global experiences and provides recommendations to promote urban agriculture, such as developing supportive policies and strengthening community partnerships.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsPolicyCommunityCo-creating stories for social innovation: a dialogic reflection of narrative Futuring and Cinema del Pueblo
2025Nico Meißner, Salvador Cantellano · Continuum · Australia (Queensland)
This article reflects on the application of Narrative Futuring and Cinema del Pueblo, two co-creation methods, with Ediblescapes, an urban farming initiative in Nerang, Queensland, between late 2022 and 2023. The study used dialogic reflection to examine individual and collaborative processes in community-engaged storytelling. Challenges identified include navigating diverse stakeholder perspectives, managing hybrid workshop formats, and ensuring a seamless transition between co-creation methods.
CommunityFood educationPathways to collective transformative action: Investigating personal narratives in sustainable communities
2025Lena Schmeiduch, Paula Blumenschein, Jane Gösling, Karsten Müller · Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology · Global
This study investigated pathways to joining sustainable communities by conducting 28 narrative interviews with active members. Analysis focused on life experiences, personal motives, and transformative experiences, identifying three pathways: viewing the community as a logical step in a sustainable lifestyle, desiring a sense of community and solidarity, and seeking alternatives to mainstream societal structures.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceExploring Behavioural Determinants of B40 Participation in Smart Urban Farming
2025· International Journal of Business and Technology Management · Malaysia
This systematic literature review explored behavioral determinants affecting the B40 income group's participation in Smart Urban Farming (SUF) in Malaysia. The review found that B40 farmers face difficulties sustaining SUF projects due to limited financial literacy, poor management, and dependence on external support. A conceptual framework was developed, identifying key behavioral determinants across perceived support and incentives, internal factors, and external factors.
Economic viabilityCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsTerre dell’incontro. Il giardino come dispositivo ecosociale per l’integrazione tra le culture
2025Eliana Saracino · Ri-Vista Research for landscape architecture · Global
This paper explores how urban gardening practices can foster transcultural integration and support migrants in redefining their identity. Through the analysis of established case studies, it is shown that the shared care of a cultivated space can overcome cultural barriers and propose a model of authentic integration based on dialogue and mutual respect.
CommunityWelfareFrom Planting to Participation: Early-Phase Resident Attachment in an Urban Fruit Orchard
2025Jiří Remr, J. Sedlák · Urban Science · Czech Republic
This study examined early-phase aesthetic fit and resident attachment in a newly planted orchard in a housing estate in a mid-sized Czech city, using face-to-face interviews with 150 residents. Residents credited the orchard with design legibility, beauty, and ecological promise, but also raised pragmatic concerns about maintenance and fruit access. Window views and general residential satisfaction increased attachment, which was strongly associated with stewardship intentions.
CommunityUrbant landbruk i det offentlige rom: erfaringer fra Oslo
2025Katinka H. Evensen, Vebjørn Egner Stafseng · · Norway (Oslo)
This chapter presents case studies from Oslo (2018–2020), exploring urban agriculture integration in public spaces through interviews with initiators and managers of eight projects. The projects are motivated by creating social meeting places and learning arenas for cultivation and ecological knowledge, and are used as a tool for local urban space development. Findings suggest that perceived publicness of spaces can be increased through deliberate design to ensure accessibility for diverse urban populations.
CommunityPolicyHealthFood educationSTATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF URBAN PEOPLE'S KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE
2025K. C. Sahu · Open MIND · Global
A study on urban farmers' knowledge of rooftop gardens found that those with gardens had very good knowledge (average score > 80%), while those without had only 45% knowledge. Farmers with rooftop gardens also showed a positive attitude towards rooftop farming, whereas households without gardens had a negative attitude. A positive correlation between knowledge and attitude was observed for both male and female farmers, with the relationship being stronger for female farmers.
Food educationCommunityBridging the Gap: Misaligned Perceptions of Urban Agriculture and Health Between Planning and Design Experts and Urban Farmers in Greater Lomé, Togo
2025Akuto Akpedze Konou, Kossiwa Zinsou-Klassou, Pablo De Roulet, Armel Firmin Kemajou Mbianda, Jérôme Chenal · Land · Togo
This study in Greater Lomé, Togo, interviewed 11 experts and surveyed urban farmers to compare their perceptions of urban agriculture and health. The findings reveal a disconnect: urban farmers identify various challenges, including health-related difficulties, while experts tend to assume different health concerns, highlighting a misalignment between the perspectives of planning and design experts and urban farmers.
Governance failureHealthPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityBUILDING FOR PLANT CONSERVATION – A CASE STUDY FROM BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
2025Anca Monica PARASCHIV, Eugenia NIȚĂ, Anca SÂRBU · Acta Horti Botanici Bucurestiensis · Romania (Bucharest)
This case study from Bucharest, Romania, describes a small, intensive rooftop garden built in 2011 on a 40 sqm private house terrace. The garden, created using ZinCo Technology, aims to conserve plants and reconnect people with nature. As of 2023, it hosts 55 taxa of vascular plants, including 51 non-native and 4 native species.
CommunityBiodiversityUrban Gardening and Public Health—A Bibliometric Analysis
2025Daniela Haluza, Julia Ortmann, Tanja Lazic, Jonas Hillmer · Sustainability · Global
This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of urban gardening research from 1991 to 2020 using VOSviewer. The field has grown steadily since the early 1990s, with a shift in focus over the last two decades from poverty and food security to the impact of urban gardening on human well-being and quality of life, predominantly in developed countries. Recent studies indicate differentiated impacts of urban gardening on various socioeconomic groups. Despite robust evidence of public health benefits, policy implementation remains limited, and researchers emphasize the need for more quantitative data to inform decisions.
HealthCommunityFood educationWelfare