Research & reports

Paris Pencharz, Peter H. Verburg, Pierre Chopin · Landscape and Urban Planning · Europe

This study investigated the conditions enabling urban agriculture (UA) at a 1 km² scale across 11 large European cities. The intercity model suggested that UA is more likely found in greener, central neighborhoods with lower property prices and lower proportions of locally born residents. However, there is not a consistent set of factors implying UA presence, suggesting other social and policy factors might be at play.

Olha Liubitseva, Іryna Kоchetkova · GEOGRAPHY AND TOURISM · Europe

This article aims to elaborate the concept of "dacha" as a scientific category with a socio-spatial essence and to demonstrate the role of dacha practices as micro-scale nature use and a specific form of urban population spatial behavior. Based on the study of the genesis and axiology of dachas as a social phenomenon, various forms of active recreational activity of the urban population, combining leisure in a natural environment with agricultural activities (including urban allotments, community gardens, dachas, and "second homes"), were identified. Essential differences between these forms were established through the application of theories such as everyday life, spatial identity, and the appropriation of space.

Marco Focacci, Isabella De Meo, Alessandro Paletto, Francesca Ugolini, Fabio Salbitano · Land · Italy

A study developed a procedural approach to introduce agroforestry into urban planning and tested it in Sesto Fiorentino, Central Italy, involving 170 stakeholders in a questionnaire survey. Respondents preferred gradually introducing agroforestry into green infrastructure, with educational food forests and alley cropping being favored. While decision-makers incorporated agroforestry into city technical standards, urban planners were reluctant to include it at the strategic level in the city development plan.

Charlotte Gallagher, Daniel López-García, Parisi, Anton, Cuevas, Soledad · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Europe

An outcome report from strategic workshops in Valladolid, Flanders, and Wrocław, engaging 33 diverse local stakeholders, assessed key policy and governance challenges facing urban agriculture. The most urgent and actionable priority identified across all three regions is the lack of coordination and knowledge sharing, underscoring a critical need to build resilient urban agriculture coalitions. To address broader structural issues like land access, stakeholders emphasized bridging the urban-rural divide, overcoming political short-termism, and establishing a shared understanding of urban agriculture's multifunctionality.

Nicolás Carrasco-Astudillo, Juan José Medina-Musellas, Kàtia Gaspar, Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals · Building and Environment · Spain (Catalonia)

This paper evaluates rooftop agrivoltaic systems integrating urban agriculture, photovoltaic generation, and rainwater collection for building resilience and water-energy-food synergies. Tested via EnergyPlus simulations in a reference residential building across nine climate zones in Catalonia, Spain, the strategy showed climate-dependent benefits. The most consistent performance was in the Csa climate (Barcelona), demonstrating robust reductions in energy demand, emissions, and discomfort hours under current and future climate scenarios.

· Wikipedia (English) · Spain

According to English Wikipedia, the Water Tribunal of the Plain of Valencia was founded during the reigns of the Caliphs Abd-ar-Rahman III and Al-Hakam II, in 960 CE, as an institution of justice to settle disputes over irrigation water. It is made up of one representative (síndic) from each of nine Irrigation Communities, one of whom serves a two-year term as president. It meets every Thursday at Casa Vestidor on Plaça de la Mare de Déu in Valencia, and in 2009 was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage alongside the Council of Wise Men of the plain of Murcia.

· Wikipedia (español) · Spain

A Wikipedia article on the Huerta de Valencia, the historic agricultural belt surrounding the city of Valencia. Origins trace to Roman settlement, but the irrigation infrastructure that shaped the current landscape was developed during the Al-Andalus (Islamic) period. Nine major irrigation canals (acequias), including Quart and Mestalla, are governed by the Tribunal de las Aguas de Valencia, inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

· Wikipedia (English) · Spain

An English-language Wikipedia article on the Horta of Valencia, the historic agricultural area surrounding metropolitan Valencia, covering 631.9 km2 with a 2019 population of 1,567,118. Its traditional Arab-era irrigation system was designated a FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in 2019 as the 'Historical Waterscape of l'Horta de Valencia.'

· Wikipedia (italiano) · Italy

An Italian Wikipedia article on Parco Agricolo Sud Milano, established on 23 April 1990 under Lombardy regional law (LR 24), covering 46,300 hectares across roughly 60 municipalities. More than 1,400 farms operate within the park, with cereals accounting for 43% of cultivation, rice 22%, and forage 16%. Forty-one traditional irrigated meadows (marcite) are protected within the park, alongside native mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, plus reported invasive species such as nutria.

· Wikipedia (italiano) · Italy

An Italian Wikipedia article on the cascine (traditional farmsteads) of Milan, of which about a hundred survive today, 59 of them municipally owned. Eighteen are derelict, while the rest are used as libraries, recreation centres, facilities for the elderly and disabled, or housing; thirteen remain active farms engaged in rice cultivation, dairy farming, or horse breeding. The oldest, Cascina Chiesa Rossa, dates to the 10th century, with other major cascine built between the 11th and 15th centuries.

Evangelista et al. · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Europe

This 8-year case study tracked tomato cultivation in a rooftop greenhouse. Peak yield reached 49 g plant−1 day−1 in the 2023 cycle, but overall yield declined by 31.2% across the 8 years. Best water use efficiency reached 36.8 g/L under reduced irrigation. Solar transmittance dropped from 50.9% in 2015 to 46.4% in 2023 due to polycarbonate degradation, and life-cycle global warming impact rose from a minimum of 0.54 kg CO2eq to 0.94 kg CO2eq in 2023.

· Wikipedia (German) · Germany

This article on green roofs in Germany explains that some major cities subsidize up to 50% of installation costs, and reduced stormwater fees (averaging €0.46/m2/year, up to €1.12/m2/year in Cologne) are also used to encourage adoption. Green roofs can be mandated in municipal development plans and used as ecological compensation measures, with about 8 million m2 newly greened annually nationwide, over 80% of it extensive systems.

· Wikipedia · Europe

Le Corbusier's 'Five Points of a New Architecture,' presented in 1927 and revised in 1929, comprise pilotis, the roof garden, the free plan, the horizontal (ribbon) window, and the free façade. The roof garden was framed as opening the roof to 'systematic domestic use,' and was realized in buildings such as Villa Savoye (completed 1931).

· Wikipedia · United Kingdom

Kensington Roof Gardens is a roughly 6,000 sq m garden atop the former Derry & Toms department store building, designed and built between 1936 and 1938 by landscape architect Ralph Hancock, comprising three themed gardens: a Spanish garden, a Tudor-style garden, and an English woodland garden with a stream and pond. The trees received a tree preservation order in 1976, the garden was Grade II listed in 1998, but public access ended in 2018; after a 2021 acquisition, it reopened in 2024 as a private members' club.

· Wikipedia · United Kingdom

According to the English Wikipedia article 'Manor Garden Allotments', the Manor Garden Allotments in London was a 4.5-acre (18,000 m2), 80-plot allotment site established in 1924 by Major Arthur Villiers. It was cleared in October 2007 to make way for landscaping of the London 2012 Olympic Park, and tenants were moved to a temporary site two kilometres away. Restoration on the original site and a 2.1-hectare provision of replacement plots were promised, but the successor Pudding Mill Lane allotments did not open until roughly four years after the Games ended.

· Wikipedia (ドイツ語) · Germany

This German Wikipedia article on the Edible City movement traces its origin to 2008 in Todmorden, England, where Pamela Warhurst and Mary Clear founded 'Incredible Edible'; by 2017 the UK Incredible Edible Network linked more than 100 groups. In Germany, the association 'Essbare Stadt' was founded in Kassel in May 2009 based on permaculture principles, while Andernach's municipal project began in 2009 and gained nationwide attention after being presented at Berlin's International Green Week in 2014. By 2017 over 140 such initiatives calling themselves 'edible' were found online. Since 2008, Toronto has promoted a comprehensive municipal program including community gardens, education, and food-waste initiatives.

· Wikipedia · Europe

This Wikipedia article on allotment gardening covers its history and national systems. In the United Kingdom, an 1809 engraving of Birmingham already shows allotment gardens surrounding the town, and the 'Great Somerford Free Gardens' in Wiltshire were founded in 1809; the 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act legalized allotments, amended in 1922 and 1950, with plot numbers rising from 244,268 in 1873 to a peak of about 1.5 million in 1918 before declining to roughly 300,000 by 2009. In Germany, 'Schrebergarten' plots trace to the 'Schreber movement' begun in Leipzig in 1864, formalized by the 1919 Small Gardens and Small Leaseholds Land Law; there are now about 1.4 million allotments covering 470 square kilometers, including 833 allotment complexes in Berlin alone. In France, family gardens that emerged in the late 19th century are managed by the 'Fédération Nationale des Jardins Familiaux et Collectifs,' with about 135,000 members. In the Netherlands, the article states the first allotment garden was founded in 1838, there are now 240,000 allotment gardens, and the 'Algemeen Verbond van Volkstuindersverenigingen in Nederland' (AVVN) was founded in 1928.

· Wikipedia · Europe

This Wikipedia article on 'city farm' states that an early city farm was set up in 1972 in Kentish Town, London, combining farm animals with gardening space — a combination inspired by children's farms in the Netherlands — and that other city farms followed across London and the United Kingdom. The article does not, however, provide further detail on the origin or history of the Dutch children's farms (kinderboerderij) themselves.

Stichting DakAkker · Stichting DakAkker (official) · Netherlands

The official site of DakAkker, a rooftop farm on top of the Schieblock building in Rotterdam. It describes itself as a 1,000-square-meter rooftop farm growing vegetables, edible flowers, and fruit and keeping bees, calling itself the largest open-air rooftop farm in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. It is presented as an initiative of ZUS (Zones Urbaines Sensibles) and the Rotterdam Environmental Centre together with Optigrün Benelux and binder daktuinen, framed as part of Rotterdam's first city initiative 'de Luchtsingel.' The roof also hosts 'Slimdak,' a test site for smart rainwater management. 'Dakennie,' its environmental education program for Rotterdam primary schools, is financially supported by Watersensitive Rotterdam, the City of Rotterdam's nature and environmental education division, and the Hoogheemraadschap Schieland en de Krimpenerwaard water authority. The page itself does not state an opening year, which could not be confirmed here.

· Wikipedia · Netherlands

The URL 'Agriculture in the Netherlands' redirects to Wikipedia's general 'Netherlands' article. Despite being a densely populated country of 41,850 km2 and over 18 million people, the article states the Netherlands is the world's second largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness.

· Wikipedia · Netherlands

A floating dairy farm in the harbour of Rotterdam, described by its founders Peter and Minke van Wingerden as the world's first. It opened on May 13, 2019 with 32 cows, with plans to grow to 40. It is designed to use residual city products such as park grass and food waste to feed the animals, processes raw dairy into milk and yoghurt onsite for distribution in the city, and returns cow manure as fertilizer for public spaces. All power comes from solar panels, rainwater is collected on the roof, and milking, manure cleanup, and feeding are largely automated.

· Wikipédia (français) · France

French Wikipedia entry on 'jardin ouvrier' (workers' garden), tracing origins to Félicie Hervieu's initiative in Sedan (1889), Abbé Lemire's 1896 league, the rapid growth of gardens in the Paris region from 48 in 1904 to 1,515 in 1913, and a nationwide total of 250,000 gardens by the end of World War II. The law of 26 July 1952 formalized the term 'jardins familiaux'.

· Wikipedia · Germany

Moritz Schreber (1808–1861) was a German medical doctor and university lecturer born in Leipzig, who became director of the Leipzig Heilanstalt in 1844 and wrote about children's health and the social effects of urbanization. The eponymous 'Schreber movement' arose only after his death; the first Schrebergarten was established in 1864 by Leipzig school principal Ernst Innozenz Hauschild, who leased land for children's physical exercise.

· Wikipedia (de) · Germany

German Kleingärten (allotment gardens) trace back to early-19th-century 'poor gardens' (Armengärten), with the first Schreber plot opened in Leipzig's Johannapark in 1865. Today about 15,000 clubs organized under 20 state federations and the national umbrella BKD manage roughly 867,092 registered plots, out of over 1 million plots nationwide covering about 46,000 hectares. The average plot size is 370 m²; as of 2008 the average transfer fee was €1,900 (€3,300 in large cities), average annual cost was €373, and the average user age was 60.

· Wikipedia (de) · Germany

Germany's Federal Allotment Garden Act (BKleingG) was enacted on 28 February 1983 and took effect 1 April 1983 (last amended 19 September 2006, effective 1 October 2006). A Kleingarten must not exceed 400 m², and a garden shed (Gartenlaube) may be at most 24 m² including a covered terrace and must not be suitable for permanent habitation. Federal Court of Justice (BGH) case law holds that at least one third of the plot area must be used for growing garden produce for personal consumption, and that a Kleingarten site must comprise at least five individual plots.