Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
7626 results(95 / 306)
Cosco N.G., Wells N.M., Zhang D., Goodell L.S., Monsur M., Xu T., Moore R.C. · Frontiers in Psychology, 13:993637 · United States (North Carolina)
An RCT of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) garden intervention in 15 Wake County childcare centers serving ages 3–5. Using a waitlist-control design, it tests effects on fruit and vegetable identification, liking and snack-time consumption, demonstrating collaborative garden-based outdoor learning in early childhood settings.
Food educationHealthCommunity李 靖儀, 木南 莉莉, 古澤 慎一, 木南 章 · 地域学研究 52巻2号 pp.231-254 · Japan
A Tokyo-centered survey on involvement and evaluation of rooftop farms finds high satisfaction among participants but low uptake, using SEM to analyze institutional and design policy needs for spreading private-development rooftop farms such as Mori Building's Roppongi Hills.
CommunityHealthPolicy練馬区 · 練馬区 調査報告書 · Japan
Final report of Nerima's review panel building on the World Urban Agriculture Summit, organising directions for publicly supported urban agriculture under four pillars — circulation, environment, fairness and collaboration — including farmland conservation, agriculture-welfare links, ward allotments and outreach.
PolicyCommunityFood educationBiodiversity新保 奈穂美 · 世田谷区 都市農業関連研究報告 · Japan
Analyses Tamaribatake, a community garden piloted under Setagaya's proposal-based partnership programme, clarifying conditions that secure participants' freedom without rigid rules and offering operational insight for municipally supported community farms.
CommunityFood educationDIY横浜市 環境創造局農政推進課 · 横浜市 市民調査報告 · Japan
Results of Yokohama's e-survey on citizen farms, capturing user motivations, satisfaction and challenges as baseline data for municipal policy improvements including the citizen-farm map and stronger outreach.
CommunityHealthFood educationPolicy名古屋農業振興地域整備計画書
2022名古屋市 · 名古屋市 農業振興地域整備計画 · Japan
Nagoya's agricultural revitalisation area development plan, setting the institutional framework for municipally supported urban agriculture through conserving quality farmland, modernising facilities, promoting farmer-led citizen farms and collaborative local land use.
PolicyCommunityBiodiversityEconomics福岡市 · 福岡市 農林業総合計画 · Japan
Agriculture chapter of Fukuoka's five-year comprehensive plan, covering subsidies for citizen farms, experience farms and refresh farms plus Agrichallenge and other municipally supported urban agriculture measures.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsFood educationSeitz B., Buchholz S., Kowarik I., Herrmann J., Neuerburg L., Wendler J., Winker L., Egerer M. · Urban Ecosystems, 25(3):927-939 · Germany (Berlin)
A survey of cultivated and spontaneously occurring wild plants in 18 community gardens across metropolitan Berlin, classifying each species as native or non-native. It found that gardens host many plant species — especially wild ones, including some endangered natives — regardless of surrounding urbanization, and that more cultivated species co-occur with more wild species (land sharing). The authors argue urban gardens can be sites of 'reconciliation ecology' that combine food production with conservation of native and wild flora.
BiodiversityCommunityPolicy新保奈穂美 · 都市計画報告集（日本都市計画学会）20(1), 154 · Japan (Kobe)
Demonstrates the community-revitalization effect of urban agriculture in a shrinking city through the case of Hirano Co-op Farm in Kobe, suggesting that an open-to-all farm and learning opportunities are essential to community formation.
CommunityWelfareDoyle G. · International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development · Ireland (Dublin)
Based on case studies in Dublin, this paper identifies the key capacities—diverse expertise, supportive organisations, and access to land and resources—that enable community groups to successfully establish and sustain community gardens in Ireland. Published in the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development (Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 15–32).
CommunityPolicyFood educationBaldini C., Marasas M.E., Tittonell P., Drozd A.A. · Land Use Policy · Argentina (La Plata)
Using multicriteria analysis in La Plata's periurban horticultural belt, the study maps land-use aptitude and identifies conflict zones between urban expansion and agricultural production, calling for integrated sustainable planning.
PolicyCommunityEconomicsBiskupovic C., Maurines B., Carmona R., Canteros E. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Chile
This qualitative comparative study of community and shared gardens in France and Chile found that small-scale collective gardening fosters human–nonhuman relationships and the transmission of caring practices, thereby promoting ecological citizenship and more sustainable forms of community living.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityCerda C., Guenat S., Egerer M., Fischer L.K. · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Chile (Santiago)
This study examined home food gardening in Santiago during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding increased interest in gardening during the ~200-day lockdown and identifying mental health and food security as key benefits, while lack of space and horticultural knowledge were the main barriers.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationFaltmann N.K. · Food, Culture and Society · Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)
Qualitative research in Ho Chi Minh City finds that a widespread crisis of confidence in the food system—driven by fears of agrochemical contamination—is the primary motivation for urban gardening, with practices varying by class position.
HealthCommunityPolicyJayakody S.K., Basu M. · Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries (Springer Singapore), pp. 223–249 · Sri Lanka (Kandy)
This book chapter examines how traditional homegardens in the Kandy District function as integrated urban agroforestry systems supporting biodiversity conservation, physical exercise, and mental health, while noting that increasing urbanization threatens their long-term sustainability.
BiodiversityHealthCommunityWelfareWadumestrige Dona C.T.G., Mohan G., Fukushi K. · Current Research in Environmental Sustainability · Sri Lanka (Colombo)
A perception survey of 402 small-scale farmers in Colombo District found positive attitudes toward the social, economic, and environmental benefits of urban agriculture, with environmental benefits rated highest, supporting home and community gardens as viable open-space management strategies for shrinking cities.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthIshak N., Abdullah R., Mohd Rosli N.S., Abdul Majid H., Abdul Halim N.S., Ariffin F. · Quaestiones Geographicae, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 57–72 · Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
A survey of 106 urban farmers across 17 community gardens in Kuala Lumpur identified weather variability, land access, and financial constraints as the primary obstacles to urban food production, highlighting the need for targeted policy support.
CommunityPolicyEconomicsMurdad R., Muhiddin M., Osman W.H., Tajidin N.E., Haida Z., Awang A., Jalloh M.B. · Sustainability (MDPI), Vol. 14, No. 7, Article 4155 · Malaysia
This review examines how COVID-19 disrupted Malaysia's fresh food supply chain and argues that urban farming approaches—including community gardens, vertical farming, and hydroponics—can meaningfully strengthen urban food security for Malaysian households.
CommunityPolicyHealthEconomicsManda S. · Journal of International Development · Zambia (Chongwe, Lusaka)
This study examines how Zambia's COVID-19 'new normal' policies disrupted peri-urban food production and market access near Lusaka, finding that ~53% of small-scale farmers reported zero agricultural income and that policy responses lacked systematic agricultural support.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityWelfarePlanning the urban foodscape: policy and regulation of urban agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand
2022Hanna C., Wallace P. · Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 313–335 · New Zealand
Examining the four largest New Zealand cities, this paper reveals a significant policy vacuum for urban agriculture, with restrictive zoning, inadequate recognition of Māori food practices, and a failure to accommodate emerging urban food-growing forms, calling for targeted municipal policy reform.
PolicyCommunityYuniarsih, Salam, Kantori, Mursyid · SSRN Academic Repository · Indonesia (Makassar)
Structural equation modeling study of 622 respondents in Makassar, Indonesia examining community participation in urban agriculture and the impact of social media communication on engagement.
CommunityHarvey S., Mount P., Valentine H., Gibson C. · Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(4):233-247 · United States
Interviewing 12 farmers who participated in a gleaning program and 16 who did not in the Greater Kansas City metro area, this study analyses motivations for and barriers to donating surplus produce to food-rescue organisations such as food banks. Participants cited ease of donating and tax incentives; non-participants cited safety and liability concerns. It informs the design of food-rescue schemes that redirect urban and peri-urban farm surplus to community food aid.
Food lossCommunityWelfareEconomicsGumisiriza M.S., Ndakidemi P.A., Mbega E.R. · MethodsX, 9:101882 · Tanzania
A methods paper presenting a simplified, non-greenhouse hydroponic system built from low-cost, readily available materials using the Kratky method, with detailed step-by-step instructions. Requiring no specialised equipment or power, it offers a reproducible, self-buildable approach to soilless vegetable growing in confined urban spaces, supporting DIY and maker-style citizen food production.
DIYEconomicsCommunityMichael Carriere, David Schalliol · Journal of Urban History · United States (Milwaukee)
This historical essay documents the history of urban agriculture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, complicating the "declensionist" narrative of the twentieth-century U.S. city. It argues that food production played a significant and often overlooked role in Milwaukee's economic, social, and spatial development, even during industrial expansion. The authors show that urban agriculture remained a viable tool for urban redevelopment, used by both public- and private-sector actors well into the twenty-first century.
EconomicsCommunityPolicyKirti Das, Anu Ramaswami · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · United States
Based on a survey of 6,152 representative urbanites in three US cities, this paper analyzes the demographics of agricultural gardeners and the types of gardening practiced. It finds low engagement in community gardening (~2%) versus household gardening (~27%), that household gardening was dominated by higher-income White males, and that community gardening was more diverse but too low in participation to scale benefits—underscoring the need for data on who gardens to design equitable urban agriculture.
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