Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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3292 results(1 / 132)
Urban–rural linkage: an ecosystem governance perspective
2026IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management · IUCN · Global
Rethinks ecosystem governance across urban and rural landscapes, offering practical local and regional solutions and linking them to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
BiodiversityPolicyUrban gardening in Dhaka: Practices, constraints, and impacts
2026Akber M.A., Kumar S.S., Schreinemachers P. · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
Survey of 1,320 Dhaka households finds rooftop gardeners consume 19% more vegetables and 7% more fruit than non-gardeners, while women manage 83% of urban gardens; key constraints are knowledge gaps and pests.
HealthEconomicsCommunityDeveloping a Success Index for Urban Agriculture Implementation to Strengthen Food Security in Egypt
2026Ashraf M., Hussain H.R. · Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs · Egypt
Develops a success index for urban agriculture in Egypt, identifying distinct success factors for commercial farms (location, capital, licensing) versus household gardens (knowledge, community support). Concludes urban farming complements conventional agriculture by activating underused urban spaces, reducing food miles, and creating micro-enterprise opportunities.
Food educationCommunityEconomicsPolicyDevelopment and Testing of a Low-Cost Soil Moisture Sensor for Real-Time Irrigation Scheduling
2026· Irrigation and Drainage · Global
Designs and tests a locally made low-cost Arduino-based soil moisture sensor for real-time irrigation scheduling, comparing and calibrating it against a commercial sensor and a conventional method in lab and field.
DIYEconomicsThe Effect of Gardening Activities Applied to Older People in a Nursing Home on Psychological Wellness and Depression: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Study
2026Kabakci, Uğur, Şengür · Public Health Nursing · Ordu, Türkiye
A single-blind randomized controlled trial with 46 older people in a nursing home in Türkiye tested the effect of gardening activities on psychological wellness and depression.
ElderlyHealthUnderstanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design
2026Nicholls · Plants, People, Planet · Global
Addresses knowledge gaps in pollination needs for urban farming by developing citizen science methodology for monitoring plant-pollinator interactions. Found similarities between grower-collected and professional researcher data on most/least attractive crops to pollinators, but identified significant discrepancies highlighting limitations of grower-only data collection.
PollinatorsFood educationCommunityDose-response efficacy of horticultural therapy for geriatric depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
2026· Frontiers in Public Health · Global (systematic review)
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examining the dose-response efficacy of horticultural therapy for geriatric depression.
ElderlyHealthVertical farming economics: crop performance targets for cost-competitive vertical farming
2026· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
The paper states the economic competitiveness of vertical farming is strongly contested and hinges on cutting energy and capital costs, deriving demanding crop-performance targets that must be met for cost-competitiveness, implying current systems are not competitive.
EconomicsTaming the green gentrification cycle? Evidence from street greening in Vienna
2026· Urban Geography · Austria (Vienna)
Mixed-method analysis (1991–2021) of Vienna street-tree greening and its link to tenure commodification and exclusionary displacement, showing greening drives a gentrification cycle except where housing is heavily decommodified—pinpointing when greening policy backfires.
PolicyWelfareThey sprout everywhere: Urban agriculture experimentations in Metro Manila
2026Montefrio, Marvin Joseph F., Saguin, Kristian Karlo · Journal of Applied Social Science · Philippines
Analysis of diverse experimental urban agriculture projects in Metro Manila. Examines citizen-driven innovative farming experiments and their contribution to urban food security.
CommunityPolicyA systematic review of green gentrification and mental health
2026Catherine D. Brown, Alessandro Rigolon, Piper Zdrodowski, Amber L. Pearson · Health & Place · Global
A systematic review of 16 articles linking green gentrification — rising costs and resident turnover following green space investment — to mental health. Four negative pathways recur: financial stress and housing insecurity from rising housing costs, loss of sense of community as the population changes, exclusion of long-standing residents from the new green space itself, and anxiety about exposure to historical contamination. The review also records benefits, including opportunities for relaxation and improved aesthetics. Because the included studies are largely cross-sectional, the authors state that longitudinal designs are needed before causal claims can be made.
HealthCommunityPolicyUrban Agriculture Enterprises and Food Security Outcomes in Secondary African Cities: Evidence From Mbarara City, Uganda
2026Nabalegwa Muhamud Wambede, Turyahabwe Remigio, Arinaitwe Justine, Turyabanawe Loy, Mulabbi Andrew · The Scientific World Journal · Uganda (Mbarara)
A cross-sectional study of 310 urban farming households across seven wards of South Division, Mbarara City, south-western Uganda, comparing food security by enterprise type using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). Overall 46% of farmers were food-secure, 42% mildly food-insecure and 1% severely food-insecure. Arable farmers did best (59.4% food-secure); 51.2% of poultry farmers and 48% of livestock farmers were mildly food-insecure, and mixed-enterprise households showed the most favourable outcomes. The authors describe most of this urban agriculture as subsistence-level, informal work, so enterprise type is only one factor behind food-security levels. Stated limitations: the cross-sectional design cannot establish causation, self-reported data carry recall bias, measurement covered a single season and so misses seasonal variation, and reliance on chi-square analysis alone limits directional inference.
EconomicsCommunityPromoting health and inclusion of people with refugee backgrounds through horticulture: A mixed-methods systematic review
2026Louise Emma O'Connor, Sarah Jay · Social Science & Medicine · Global
A mixed-methods systematic review searching four databases for research published between 2015 and 2024 on horticulture and the health and inclusion of people with refugee backgrounds; 20 peer-reviewed studies were included and integrated using a 'best-fit' framework synthesis. Horticultural activity is reported to support mental, physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cognitive and economic wellbeing, and to enhance social inclusion through social connections, social capital, collective identity and intercultural exchange. With only 20 studies, mostly qualitative, the review does not quantify effect sizes or identify the conditions under which these benefits do or do not occur.
WelfareCommunityHealthASSESSING THE CLIMATIC IMPACT OF ROOFTOP GARDENS ON URBAN LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE: SATELLITE-BASED EVIDENCE FROM DHAKA NORTH CITY CORPORATION
2026Md. Motaleb Hossain Sarker, Ferzana Islam, A.S.M. Julker Naem, Maza Munsur · International Journal of Business Social and Scientific Research · Bangladesh (Dhaka)
This study evaluated the cooling effects of rooftop gardens on land surface temperature (LST) in Dhaka North City Corporation, Bangladesh, using satellite observations from March to May 2022. Researchers identified 2,012 buildings with rooftop gardens and 43,553 without, deriving daytime LST from Landsat 8 data. Results indicate that rooftop gardens reduce mean rooftop LST by up to 1.99 °C during peak heat in May and suppress extreme rooftop temperatures by 3.9–6.4 °C across the pre-monsoon season, also showing reduced thermal variability.
Climate changeFood is Medicine in Action: Dietary and Food Security Outcomes of a Health Care–Based Community-Supported Agriculture Program
2026Kathryn Colasanti, Flavio Di Stefano, Jae Gerhart, Alison Shores, Katelyn Smoger · Health Promotion Practice · Global
This study explored the dietary intake and food security impacts of a healthcare-based Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with dual referral pathways, collecting 164 pretest-posttest surveys. Findings showed increased fruit and vegetable intake and improved household food security after program participation. However, no correlation was found between changes in food security status and length of participation, nor was there a significant relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and length of participation.
CSA & TeikeiHealthWelfareNIÑEZ, DIVERSIDAD FUNCIONAL Y AGROECOLOGÍA: APRENDIZAJES EN UN HUERTO URBANO INCLUSIVO DE CHILE
2026Josué Martínez-Lagos, Homero Barría Ojeda, Gabriel Peña Peña · · Chile
This study documented an agroecological urban gardening intervention at the Teletón Institute in Puerto Montt, Chile, focusing on children with functional diversity. An inclusive urban garden and workshop program integrated educational and therapeutic processes. Results showed that 71% of participants identified at least ten vegetable species, 64% understood their life cycles, 79% progressed in functional and autonomy dimensions, and 93% perceived the garden as promoting well-being.
Food educationHealthCommunityWelfareImpact of gardening and nutrition support provided to women in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
2026Liz Ignowski, Pepijn Schreinemachers, Md Maniruzzaman, Regine Kopplow, Nasir Md. Uddin, Mercy Mwambi · Food Policy · Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazar)
A cluster-randomized controlled trial with 1050 pregnant and lactating women in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, evaluated a home garden and nutrition program. The intervention increased garden adoption by 17 percentage points and households sourcing produce from their gardens by 57 percentage points. It also improved nutrition knowledge by 23 percentage points and reduced household food insecurity by 66%, leading to one additional serving of fruit per week, but no significant increase in vegetable intake.
HealthFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityGeo-AI Ensemble Modeling Framework for Assessing Groundwater Contamination Under Anthropogenic Pressures in an Extensive Peri-Urban Agricultural Aquifer to Support Sustainable Groundwater Management
2026Mohamed Haythem Msaddek, Mohsen Ben Alaya, Lahcen Zouhri, Yahya Moumni, Bilel Abdelkarim · Water · Global
This study developed a Geo-AI ensemble modeling framework to assess groundwater contamination dynamics in peri-urban agricultural aquifers. Applied to the Manouba aquifer in Tunisia using 295 samples from 85 wells (2005-2025), the spatial analysis revealed severe contamination expanded from 7% of the study area in 2005 to 55% in 2025. Urban expansion and agricultural intensification were found to reduce recharge, increase pollutant loading, and accelerate contaminant accumulation.
Contamination & food safetyClimate changePeri-urban agricultureHow Is the Lawn & Garden Consumables Market Evolving Globally? Trends, Drivers, and Investment Opportunities
2026Next Move Strategy Consulting · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
The global Lawn & Garden Consumables Market, valued at USD 24.48 billion in 2024, is projected to reach USD 31.11 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.87% from 2025 to 2030. Growth is driven by consumer focus on home landscaping, outdoor aesthetics, sustainable gardening, eco-friendly products, digital distribution, and urban gardening trends. This study examines market trends, drivers, regional outlooks, segmentation, competitive landscape, and investment opportunities.
EconomicsDIYModeling Non-State Actor Interactions in Inclusive Urban Ecology: The Role of Community Gardens in Sustainable City Development
2026Indra Jaya Wiranata, Khairunnisa Simbolon · Global and Policy Journal of International Relations · Global
This research examines the role of community gardens, supported by non-governmental groups, in addressing urban issues like environmental damage and food insecurity. The study analyzed urban agriculture programs in Singapore, Rosario, Seoul, Seville, and Yogyakarta, finding that community gardens boost biodiversity, improve air quality, support food sovereignty, and create inclusive public spaces. It concludes that community gardens are socio-ecological infrastructures that strengthen urban resilience and promote justice, especially in tropical cities with year-round growing seasons.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityPolicyPositive Youth Development and Connection with Nature through Urban Agriculture
2026Casey T Ortbahn, Marijke Hecht, Kristi S. Lekies · Journal of Youth Development · Global
This qualitative study used photovoice to explore 16 high school youths' perceptions of a youth gardening program's impact on their confidence, connection, and sense of belonging. Thematic analysis of photos, posters, and interviews identified meaningful relationships with peers, adults, nature, and more-than-human beings as supporting factors. The analysis suggests nature is a crucial context for youth development and that youth can form meaningful relationships with more-than-human beings.
Food educationCommunityHealthUrban agriculture and the Water–Energy–Food Nexus for sustainable and resilient cities
2026Erick Paul Mena-Barragán, Lucía Toledo, Javier Cuestas-Caza, Oswaldo Viteri-Salazar · Frontiers in Sustainability · Global
This systematic review of 43 peer-reviewed articles (2003–2026) examines how the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus is conceptualized and operationalized in urban agriculture literature. It identifies four thematic domains and three modes of WEF Nexus integration: conceptual-strategic, operational-partial, and operational-systematic. The review finds heterogeneous forms of integration, from strategic framing to partial or, less frequently, fully systemic assessments of water, energy, and food relations.
Climate changeFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsACTIVITIES OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR SQUADS OF PUPILS IN THE PSKOV PROVINCE IN 1915-1916 (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE REGIONAL PERIODICAL PRESS)
2026V.V. KARPOVA · History of Everyday Life · Russia
This study, based on regional periodical press, traces the activities of pupil labor squads in Pskov province during 1915-1916, which provided charitable assistance to peasant families during World War I. Field squads had limited reach due to small numbers and insufficient funding, but gardening squads organized in 1916 gained popularity, cultivating public and school gardens to increase vegetable production for hospitals.
Food educationCommunityWelfareUrban liveability, health and wellbeing are intricately linked to large, quality, biodiverse green spaces, not densification
2026Charlie M. Shackleton, Nanamhla Gwedla, Jessica P. R. Thorn · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · Global
This article discusses the long-standing debate on whether cities can be both dense and green, noting that some cities have achieved both. It questions whether densification is the sole driver of declines in urban green space and proposes deepening the debate by considering eight other dimensions of urban greening. The article also mentions compact urban greening forms like vertical gardens and green roofs, but states that most are poor surrogates for large, connected, biodiverse green spaces.
BiodiversityHealthPolicyCase study on biological and chemical soil properties during the transition from intensive agriculture to an organic food forest
2026Hermann Ketterl, Tobias Heinrich · Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg (OTH Regensburg) · Global
This case study monitors soil properties as a function of time since conversion from intensive agriculture to an organic food forest, which was planted in several sections over five years. Classical soil microscopy was used to assess bacterial and fungal abundance, and the resulting videos were analyzed using image analysis.
Organic cycleBiodiversityCommunity