Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
7626 results(92 / 306)
The Morphology of Urban Agriculture of Marisa District, Indonesia
2023Irwan Wunarlan, Sugiono Soetomo, Iwan Rudiarto · Civil Engineering and Architecture · Indonesia
Most residents of Marisa and Paguat districts in Indonesia engage in primary agricultural production centered on suburban and hinterland areas. This study aimed to (1) examine the causes of urban agglomeration among farmer settlements and the resulting spatial form or urban morphology, (2) analyze how city morphology developed due to the economic strength of the agricultural commodity export sector, particularly in hinterland farming areas, and (3) analyze economic growth stemming from the agricultural commodity export base, with emphasis on Marisa's population. A quantitative-qualitative method grounded in post-positivist philosophy was used, with data collected through observation, document review, and interviews, and analyzed using Leading Commodities analysis (Location Quotient, LQ-share and LQ-shift analysis) and spatial analysis. Results showed that (1) urban agglomeration led to the settlement of farmer communities, which also formed mutual relationships among residents, and (2) Marisa's layout resembled a star-shaped or octopus form under the urban morphology classification used. This result was attributed to dynamics stemming from Marisa's process of establishment as a region, and the study recommends further research on this point.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyFrom Thai to Zai: Insects as Example of Threatened Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Food Production
2023Jean Pascal · Biodiversity online journal. · Global
Noting that insects constitute most of the biodiversity on Earth and provide a wide range of services to society while being threatened by human activities such as habitat destruction and urbanization, this article assesses advances in understanding the impact of insects on sustainable food production in low-income countries. It focuses on two research topics that have emerged in recent years: entomophagy combined with the creation of small household farms rearing insects for sale (the Thai example), and the use of insects to improve soil fertility and nutrient availability (the Zai example). The article advocates considering the diversity of solutions and adaptations found in nature, arguing that the ways local communities and ethnic groups use natural resources are vast and should be seen as a source of inspiration for scientists developing sustainable food systems.
Organic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPollinators24 Algorithmic Food Justice
2023Lara Houston, Sara Heitlinger, Ruth Catlow, Alex Taylor · Bristol University Press eBooks · United Kingdom
This piece asks under what technoscientific conditions food scarcity might be understood as contingent on heterogeneous actors, and how the possibility of food abundance might be approached as a reparative project revaluing those manifold relations, framing blockchain as an infrastructure offering both productive imaginaries and challenges to such work. A series of workshops critically experimented with these possibilities and challenges, working with diverse participants — community growers, organizers, artists and technologists — who used playful methods to act out fictional scenarios set in 2025, a speculative future in which all of London had been transformed into a city farm. For the organizations and participants involved, reparation meant working in the aftermath of social and environmental collapse to bring into being more-than-human value systems that radically decentered human knowledge and experience.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureOpportunities and Challenges of Urban Farming in Ethiopia: Evidence from Vegetable Producers in Addis Ababa
2023Habtamu Serbessa, Teferee Mekonnen, Meskerem Abi · Journal of Developing Country Studies · Ethiopia
A questionnaire survey and focus group discussions with small-scale vegetable producers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia used probability sampling, descriptive statistics, correlation and multinomial logistic regression, plus SWOT and force field analysis. Producers held positive perceptions of vegetable production and most intended to continue, but limited access to land, pests and diseases, and water shortages were identified as the main challenges. Regression results showed land size, gender, age and housing type as the most significant factors determining vegetable production.
Governance failureCommunityPolicyOccurrence of myxomycetes in selected elevated urban residential gardens in Metro Manila, Philippines
2023· Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology · Philippines
A survey of 204 ground leaf litter samples from ornamental woody shrubs and herbaceous flowering plants, collected from elevated gardens in eight low- to high-rise buildings in Metro Manila, Philippines, used the moist chamber technique to examine the occurrence of myxomycetes (slime molds). Fourteen species from nine genera were identified, with overall moist chamber productivity ranging from 43% to 45%. Arcyria cinerea and Perichaena depressa were the most frequently recorded species. The survey provided evidence that rooftop gardens serve as suitable habitats for myxomycetes.
BiodiversityCommunitySTRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN URBAN FARMING “BURUAN SAE” MANG ODED DI KELURAHAN LINGKAR SELATAN KECAMATAN LENGKONG KOTA BANDUNG
2023Mariska Nur Hanifah, Tomy Perdana · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Bandung)
A descriptive qualitative study of "Buruan SAE" Mang Oded, one of the "Buruan SAE" urban farming groups promoted by the Bandung City Agriculture and Food Security Agency, Indonesia, to address food availability. The group faced obstacles including a lack of community participation and stagnating business development. The study identifies the internal and external factors influencing its development and determines an appropriate development strategy, using interviews, observation, and documentation with the group's decision-makers, analyzed with IFE, EFE, IE, SWOT, and QSPM matrices. The IFE matrix produced a total score of 2.843 and the EFE matrix a total score of 3.066, indicating that both internal and external factor conditions were above average. The group's current position on the IE matrix falls in cell II, corresponding to a Growth and Build strategy. From the SWOT matrix, four alternative strategies were derived and ranked using QSPM: (1) using social media and creating new innovations, (2) optimizing land use, (3) using distinct labels or brands and expanding product types, and (4) maintaining market and cooperative relations with the government.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyA agroecologia no contexto da pandemia de Covid-19: contribuições para a segurança alimentar e nutricional
2023Susana Moreira Padrão · Interagir pensando a extensão · Brazil
An essay reflecting on the potential of agroecological agriculture in Brazil within the context of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its likely economic and social consequences. It presents economic and social indicators of rising unemployment and poverty, arguing that social inequality is likely to worsen in this scenario, with an immediate impact on rising food insecurity and hunger. Examples such as the Agroecological Fair at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), collective and community gardens in favelas, and productive backyards are cited as showing that actions reaching the most vulnerable population are possible to implement. The essay argues that agroecology and urban agriculture contribute effectively to promoting food and nutritional security and health, aiming at the human right to adequate food and population involvement in agroecology-based food cultivation, in pursuit of food autonomy.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleState of the art: “social and solidarity economy as a driver of sustainability
2023Daniela S. Gómez-López · ECORFAN Journal Republic of El Salvador · Global
A paper providing a comprehensive analysis of the state of convergence between the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and sustainability, covering 2009 to 2023, using a combined heuristic and hermeneutic literature review methodology. SSE, built on principles of cooperation, equity and citizen participation, is presented as a key tool for addressing inequality and promoting decent employment, while sustainability is framed as improving living conditions without compromising the future. The paper argues that SSE promotes sustainable economic practices aligned with the 2030 Agenda, and illustrates SSE's application through regional case studies spanning urban agriculture, circular economy, recycling cooperatives, and socioeconomic development projects.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsModelling the Benefits and Impacts of Urban Agriculture: Employment, Economy of Scale and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
2023Arun Kafle, James Hopeward, Baden Myers · Horticulturae · Global
A study modeling the social, economic, and environmental potential of urban agriculture (UA), based on information from 40 distinct locations in each of two regions: Adelaide, South Australia and the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Modelling estimated equivalent employment, scale appropriateness, and earnings relative to labor use from commercial urban farming and gardening-style UA, together with carbon dioxide emissions for two vegetable types. The study examined the influence of distance and production scale under manual-to-modest mechanization for urban vegetable production, finding that the interplay between labor use and mechanization can favor scale-appropriate UA practices with better labor productivity and economic and social advantage. Distribution — assumed to be by car for UA — contributed the largest share of emissions, while the production component, even with mechanization, contributed a relatively small portion per unit of production. The study recommends that governments and planners facilitate scale-appropriate mechanization through better planning and policy instruments to support UA's sustainability.
CommunityEconomicsClimate changeThe Development of Urban Farming: Systematics Literature Review
2023Maulana Andinata Dalimunthe, Noviawan Rasyid Ohorella, Nabila Fahira Nasution · Journal of Peasants’ Rights · Global
This bibliometric literature review analyzed research using the keyword "urban farming" published between 2010 and 2023 to map the field's development. The reviewed literature characterizes urban farming as a way to improve food security and economic conditions in urban areas with potential positive impacts across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and as commodity production it is concerned with distribution, marketing, and land area; the review itself does not report primary data from a specific location or population.
CommunityBiodiversityPolicyHealthA city of gardeners: What happens when policy, planning, and populace co-create the food production of a novel peri-urban area?
2023J.E. Jansma, Sigrid Wertheim‐Heck · Environment and Planning B Urban Analytics and City Science · Netherlands
This study examined Oosterwold, a peri-urban area of Almere, Netherlands, where a top-down policy goal of producing 10% of future urban food needs was delegated to residents' self-organisation under a rule requiring 51% of each plot to be allocated to urban agriculture. Using a social practice theory-informed analysis combining an online survey (n=111) with an analysis of aerial photographs (n=199), the study found that it takes residents time to adopt urban agriculture as a substantial practice within their heterogeneous lifestyles, and that a bottom-up, self-organised approach does not mean planning and policy can adopt a laissez-faire stance — a balance among policy goals, planning instruments, and practitioners' needs is required.
PolicyCommunityThe Lifestyle and Mobility Connection of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Users
2023Nathalie Nahas, Ugo Lachapelle · Findings · Canada
Through 16 qualitative interviews with community-supported agriculture (CSA) users in Montreal, Canada, researchers examined whether CSA use was accompanied by more ecological, non-motorized travel behavior. Urban users typically subscribed to a nearby drop-off point and many used non-motorized modes to collect their weekly baskets, but because of the baskets' weight and fixed collection windows, pickups by users who joined during the Covid-19 era were often folded into car-based trip chains.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityUrban–rural linkageFinding justice in the food movements
2023Xiaoya Yuan · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States
This is a book review, not original research, covering Justin Sean Myers' Growing Gardens, Building Power: Food Justice and Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn. The reviewed book documents the emergence and development of urban agriculture in East New York, presenting a detailed account of a community's collective effort to confront its racialized history of segregation and disinvestment while fighting for food sovereignty and social justice.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyPublic Aspirations for a decolonised city. Food security and "re-storytelling"
2023Katie Jane Tollan, Mike Ross, Ocean Mercier, Bianca Elkington, Rebecca Kiddle, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Amanda Thomas, Jennie Smeaton · MAI Journal A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous Scholarship · New Zealand
This study analyzed 40 public entries submitted to the 2017 Imagining Decolonised Cities (IDC) competition in Porirua, New Zealand, organized by Ngāti Toa Rangatira, to explore how participants understood decolonization enacted in an urban setting. It identified two overarching themes linked to Corntassel's theory of sustainable self-determination: food security, expressed through designs for community gardens, seafood harvesting stations, and larger food transportation systems, and "re-storytelling," centering Māori identities and stories.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyThe Influence of Urban Gardening Activities on Participants’ Perceived Restorativeness, Resilience, Sense of Community and Stress
2023H. J. Kim, Won-Suk Oh, Jin-Gun Kim, Won-Sop Shin · Healthcare · Global
Ninety participants were divided into experimental and control groups and took part in 16 biweekly urban gardening sessions from May to November 2022 to test effects on perceived restorativeness, resilience, sense of community, and stress reduction. Using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Sense of Community Index, Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument, and salivary cortisol testing, the study found that urban gardening activities positively influenced participants' physiological and psychological responses.
CommunityHealthWelfareGrowing Gardens, Building Power: Food Justice and Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn Growing Gardens, Building Power: Food Justice and Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn Justin Sean Myers (2022). Rutgers University Press, 250 pages. $32.95 (paperback)
2023Mahbubur Meenar · Journal of the American Planning Association · United States (New York City)
A review of Justin Sean Myers's Growing Gardens, Building Power: Food Justice and Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn (2022, Rutgers University Press, 250 pages, $32.95). The review introduces food justice as a concept that emerged in the late 20th century in response to systemic inequalities in the food system and has since gained significant traction in both scholarly and professional circles.
CommunityPolicyFood sovereignty & justiceARSITEKTUR NABATI : RESPON RUANG PASKA PANDEMI COVID-19 DI INDONESIA
2023Nimas Sekarlangit, Prasasto Satwiko · MODUL · Indonesia
This paper addresses how the COVID-19 pandemic forced people worldwide, including in Indonesia, into new living habits. It notes that experts link recurring zoonotic pandemics closely to human consumption of wild animals and livestock, and states that plant-based food sources have already been shown to meet humans' complete nutritional needs. The "arsitektur nabati" (plant-based architecture) discussed here combines human activity spaces with food plants within a local context, and is presented as an integrated solution to the challenges of preventing recurring zoonotic pandemics, nutritional sufficiency, biodiversity, and urban living-environment quality. Using recent COVID-19-related information, the paper discusses the connection between the pandemic and plant-based architectural design, studying student and professional architects' works that respond to the idea of urban agriculture. It concludes that plant-based architecture can serve as an early mitigation effort against pandemic disasters by providing good air quality and lighting for spaces, promoting occupant health, and providing food security under conditions of limited land.
Organic cycleCommunityBiodiversityPromoting Beneficial Arthropods in Urban Agroecosystems: Focus on Flowers, Maybe Not Native Plants
2023Stacy M. Philpott, Azucena Lucatero, Sofie Andrade, Cameron R. Hernandez, Peter Bichier · Insects · United States (California)
This study examined how native plant species richness, garden management, and landscape composition affect the abundance and richness of native and non-native bees, ladybeetles, ants, and ground-foraging spiders in urban community gardens (urban agroecosystems) in California, United States. Native plants — about 10% of species but only about 2.5% of plant cover — had little influence on arthropods overall, with the only significant effect being a negative one on non-native spider richness, likely reflecting native plants' low cover. Garden size increased native and non-native bee abundance and richness and non-native spider richness; floral abundance increased non-native spider abundance and native and non-native spider richness; mulch cover and tree/shrub abundance increased non-native spider richness; and natural habitat cover increased non-native bee and native ant abundance but was associated with fewer native ladybeetle species. The study concludes that native plant richness does not strongly influence the abundance and richness of beneficial arthropods.
Limited or null effectBiodiversityCommunityFood educationUnlearning in sustainability transitions: Insight from two Dutch community-supported agriculture farms
2023Laura van Oers, Giuseppe Feola, Hens Runhaar, Ellen H.M. Moors · Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions · Europe
This study qualitatively documents the conversion to a solidarity payment system at two Dutch community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms, combining conceptualizations of "organizational unlearning" from organization, business, and management theory with "pedagogical unlearning" drawn from postcolonial and feminist approaches to education, to build a fuller understanding of unlearning in sustainability transitions. The solidarity payment system increases CSA access for low-income members and fosters solidarity with farmers to secure fairer income. The results indicate a generative function of unlearning during processes of change, along with the strategic and pedagogical relevance of unlearning in this specific case.
CSA & TeikeiCommunityPolicyUrban agriculture development: Global insights and lessons for Ho Chi Minh City
2023Khuong Ngoc Ho, Anh The Phung, Thuy Nhu Thi Nguyen, Loan Kim Thi Vo · Journal of Development and Integration · Vietnam
This review paper analyzes urban agriculture development experiences in countries including Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan to draw lessons applicable to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in the context of urbanization and rising food demand. It cites rooftop farming, vertical farming methods, and advanced technologies as strategies used elsewhere, identifies challenges such as limited natural resources and urban management difficulties, and proposes improving urban agriculture planning and infrastructure, strengthening technology transfer, using community resources, and expanding access to finance as responses. No quantitative data or empirical results are presented.
PolicyCommunityPEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DALAM PEMANFAATAN AIR HUJAN SEBAGAI SUMBER AIR BERSIH “URBAN FARMING” DI WILAYAH CIBABAT CIMAHI
2023Nia Yuniarti Hasan, Teguh Budi Prijanto · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Kesehatan Indonesia · Indonesia
This community outreach activity in the Cibabat area of Cimahi, Indonesia, responds to findings that urban rainwater is affected by local pollution sources and long-distance transport of natural and anthropogenic air pollutants, by using rainwater processed through a treatment installation as an irrigation source for soil-free hydroponic urban farming. Framing urban farming as a way to create green open space amid dense urban development, the activity delivered outreach and training on rainwater treatment technology to build residents' skills and knowledge. No quantitative outcome measurements are reported.
CommunityDIYBased on the Development Countermeasures of Yunnan Garden in the Southwest Frontier of Honghe Prefecture
2023Liang Zixi, Hui Liang, Chen Xiuping, Huang Yushu, Yang Guiying, Yuan Cuiyun · Journal of Agriculture and Forestry · China
An essay (Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 2023) traces the historical development of "Yunnan Garden," a regional garden style in China's Yunnan province, situating it within the context of the 2021 UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference (COP15) held in Kunming, and proposes countermeasures for its further development based on an analysis of Yunnan's resource endowment. The paper is a historical and cultural analysis without empirical measurements.
CommunityBiodiversityResearch on Online Sales of Low-Carbon Agricultural Products by New Urban Agricultural Business Entities: Evidence from Shanghai, China
2023Fan Xu, Fangke Xu, Pu Xu, Min Liu, Yufeng Li · Sustainability · China
A study of 106 questionnaire responses from new urban agricultural business entities in Shanghai, China (Sustainability, 2023) combined the Theory of Planned Behavior with the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability model and a binary Probit regression to examine online sales intentions and behavior for low-carbon agricultural products. Economic expectations and social norms significantly improved online sales intention at the formation stage, while behavior control was found not to be conducive to improving online sales intention. The study also identified a gap between operators' willingness to sell online and their actual behavior, and found that strengthening policy conditions and management capacity helped convert stated willingness into actual online-selling behavior.
EconomicsCommunityClimate changePolicyInvestigating the Possibility of Using Bulbous Plants in Structurally Supported Gardens
2023D Kozáková, M. Jebavý, M. Kunt, K. Čechová · Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica · Europe
A study in Prague, Czech Republic (Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica, 2023) tested bulbous plant species for suitability in vertical and rooftop gardens under a temperate climate, recording bloom timing, duration, and resilience by cardinal direction across multiple years. Narcissus performed best in the south-facing section of the vertical garden and was found most suitable for both garden types; Scilla siberica was the worst choice for south-facing gardens in bloom length and quantity of flowering plants; Muscari armeniacum showed balanced bloom results across all cardinal directions; Galanthus woronowii did not show promise for either garden type; and Crocus 'King of Striped' was found unsuitable for vertical gardens.
CommunityBiodiversityDIY協同農業普及事業の展開方向に関する一考察 / 都市型JAの営農指導事業による補完・代替の可能性
2023瑞樹 荒毛, 昌弥 菊地, 明日風 清水, 洋一 松本, Mitsuyoshi KISHIGAMI · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
With the public "Cooperative Agricultural Extension Program" in Japan facing growing budget and staffing constraints, and prior research pointing to a need for JA (agricultural cooperative) farm-guidance services to compensate for or substitute it in scale and function, this study (2023, Japan) examined JAs that administer urban agriculture through a review of statistical data, interviews with farm-guidance staff, and content analysis of disclosure publications from three Osaka Prefecture JAs, assessing the current state and potential of their farm-guidance services as a substitute provider. The analysis found that even for urban-type JAs, which can relatively easily build market-driven production and sales models, their farm-guidance services remain unable to adequately compensate for or substitute the public extension program in scale and function.
PolicyCommunityFood education