Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
17 results
Solar-powered urban farming
2025Arun Kumar, Sandhya Prajapati · · Global
Urban farming has emerged as a viable approach that encourages intensive farming techniques and urban wastewater to sustainably generate food. This approach optimizes available urban spaces like rooftops, vacant lots, and vertical structures to cultivate food within city boundaries. It lessens reliance on lengthy supply chains and promotes a clean, sustainable environment by minimizing resource consumption, including fresh water and pesticides.
Climate changeBiodiversityFood miles & supply chainUrban–rural linkageLow Carbon Adaptation through Community Composting
2025Wang, Junrong · Digital Commons - RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) · Global
This project uses landscape architecture to reduce carbon emissions from restaurants by implementing compost gardens that shorten compost transportation routes. These gardens, placed on roofs and at ground-level, create new local food sources to replace distant shipments and provide materials for organic pesticides, reducing carbon-intensive VOC emissions. The compost gardens are integrated into existing parking lots and vacant lots, forming a community garden network.
CompostCommunityClimate changeFood miles & supply chainFarm-to-Table Initiatives in Restaurant Food Production: Benefits, Challenges, and Consumer Perceptions
2024Dr.M.K. Ganesh · International Journal for Multidimensional Research Perspectives · Global
This mixed-methods study examined the farm-to-table movement in restaurant food production, identifying benefits like enhanced food freshness and local economic support. However, it also found significant challenges including higher costs, seasonal variability, and complex supply chain logistics. Consumer perceptions were generally positive, but the study emphasized the need for increased consumer education and policy support to overcome barriers.
Economic viabilityEconomicsFood miles & supply chainPolicyCommunityResearch on Optimization of Agricultural Products Cold Chain Logistics Distribution System Based on Low Carbon Perspective
2024Chunrong Ni, Katarzyna Dohn · International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management · Global
This article establishes a low-carbon urban agricultural product co-distribution model to reduce circulation levels and environmental impact. It analyzes fuel consumption and carbon emissions estimation models for delivery vehicles and develops a mathematical model for optimizing cold chain distribution routes from a low-carbon perspective. Using a logistics center as an example, the model's rationality and feasibility were verified by optimizing distribution routes with a genetic algorithm.
EconomicsClimate changeFood miles & supply chainSupervivencia y Productividad de Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa) en Torres Hidropónicas Artesanales
2024Dennis Guerra-Centeno, Paula Guerra-Burmester, Carlos Valdéz-Sandoval, Alfredo Gómez-Chacón, Sayra Pérez-Julián, Jackeline Marisol Noriega-Huertas, Ligia Vanessa Rios · Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar · Global
This 10-week study evaluated the productivity of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) in two artisanal hydroponic towers, measuring survival, growth, biomass production, and light incidence effects. Survival was 97%. Final average heights were 40.6 cm in the upper stratum and 29.8 cm in the lower stratum, with significant differences from the second week (p < .001). Final average plant weight was 12.55 g in the upper stratum and 5.35 g in the lower, but no significant difference in average weights between strata was found (U = 212, p = 0.754). Total biomass production was 358 g, equivalent to 1.33 kg/m2.
DIYFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainUrban agriculture and shortened supply chain – different approaches to local food production
2022Ada Górna · Prace i Studia Geograficzne · Global
A study analyzed urban agriculture supply chains in Havana, Kigali, Bissau, and Singapore based on fieldwork conducted from 2018 to 2020. It found that while shortened supply chains are typical for urban agriculture, their benefits are not arbitrary and depend on local economic, social, and spatial conditions, as well as the supply chain's organization and structure. The positive effects of localized food production are not universal, indicating a need for further research into supply and value chain structures.
Limited or null effectEconomicsFood miles & supply chainUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceThe environmental impact of fresh tomatoes consumed in cities: A comparative LCA of long-distance transportation and local production
2022Beatriz Urbano, Marcia Barquero, Fernando González‐Andrés · Scientia Horticulturae · Global
This study used a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to compare the environmental impacts of eight scenarios for fresh tomato supply to urban citizens. Zero-miles production in heated greenhouses showed the highest environmental impact (GWP 0.33 kg CO2 eq/kg tomato), performing worse than unheated greenhouses with long-distance transport (GWP 0.21 kg CO2 eq). Conversely, open-field zero-miles production was the most environmentally favorable option (GWP 0.12 kg CO2 eq), and product travel distance was less important than transport efficiency. Urban Agriculture was not environmentally superior to zero-miles agriculture carried out in rural areas.
Climate changeFood miles & supply chainUrban–rural linkageShort food supply chain
2018Agni Kalfagianni, Sophia Skordili · · Global
This book explores the potential of short food supply chains (SFSCs) to address environmental, social, and economic challenges in the global agri-food system. It demonstrates that SFSCs, including farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture, offer innovative forms of collective action for local sustainable transformations. The book concludes that alternatives to the dominant agri-food system are possible and thriving, but require concerted effort and collaboration to realize their full potential.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood miles & supply chainFood sovereignty & justiceEnergy: Solar-powered Photosynthesis and Greenhouses
2016Gundula Proksch · · Global
This chapter investigates factors for implementing sustainable, energy-efficient urban agricultural operations, focusing on the solar needs of plants, the extension of growing seasons indoors, and passive solar gains for buildings. It provides an overview of greenhouse typologies, cover materials, and lighting systems to optimize energy use and production. Additionally, it examines the potential for photosynthesis and the carbon cycle to utilize building exhaust systems for CO2-rich air and excess heat to support crop cultivation, exploring intersections among nutrient, water, and energy cycles through case studies.
Climate changeOrganic cycleFood miles & supply chainEconomicsUnderstanding Markets and Marketing Strategies, and Challenges in Locally Grown Fresh Produce Industry
2016J. Dominique Gumirakiza, Laura J. Hopper, Gumirakiza, J. Dominique, Hopper, Laura · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
An exploratory study of existing literature on locally grown food systems identified common findings, recommendations, and proposed priorities, key variables, and relationships for future research. Findings indicate that local food marketing through farmers' markets and Community Supported Agriculture, along with the benefits of local food systems to local economies (an ongoing debate), heavily dominate the literature. Prior studies commonly reported enthusiasm for locally grown fresh produce but presented diverging results regarding significant consumer characteristics.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceFood miles & supply chainApplications of Carbon Footprint in Urban Planning and Geography
2015Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu · · Global
This abstract discusses how urban expansion and the separation of urban and agricultural areas increase energy demand for transporting food and goods. It notes that despite technological advances, a gap exists between energy demand and supply, even in advanced countries. The abstract concludes that reducing energy demand is a more realistic approach for sustainable development than solely relying on technological progress.
Urban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainClimate changePolicyCity pig farm
2014Ulf Hackauf · Repository hosted by TU Delft Library (TU Delft) · Global
This paper explores urban pig farming as a specific form of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA). It uses a design-based research strategy, drawing on the 'City Pig' study (2009) from Delft University of Technology, to identify the potential benefits of urban pig farming and assess how un-built design projects can inform future real projects. A significant limitation is that the study concerns virtual, un-built design proposals.
Urban–rural linkageFood miles & supply chainCommunityHealthOrganic and Local Food
2013Robert Paarlberg · · Global
Organic foods, initially championed in the early 20th century, gained commercial significance in the 1990s as consumers sought to avoid chemical residues and improve nutrition. However, scientific support for nutritional benefits and significant reductions in pesticide residue risks is weak. While organic crops reduce chemical runoff, they require more land due to lower yields, leading to the promotion of "local" foods and urban agriculture.
Organic cycleFood miles & supply chainFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageLow Carbon and Environmental Protection:A New Conception of Contemporary Western Cultural Movement of Agricultural Food
2012Zhu Qing-hai · Ecological Economy · Global
This paper describes a new cultural movement in agricultural food emerging in Western developed countries, driven by concerns over food safety, environmental pollution, global climate change, and inequality. This movement encompasses community-supported agriculture, food miles, and fair trade. These initiatives are presented as ensuring food safety, promoting regional economic development, safeguarding global fairness and justice, and influencing global environmental improvement.
CSA & TeikeiFood miles & supply chainClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsTo Build Up Partnership between Agriculture and Food
2010Sumiko Abe · Journal for the Integrated Study of Dietary Habits · Global
This report examines the weakening relationship between agriculture and food, leading to market failures, reduced competitiveness, and information deficiencies, with processed foods and supermarket purchases dominating. It focuses on direct sales and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) as methods to realize "eating habits of volitional selection." These regional markets foster trust and traceability, contributing to food safety, and the study introduces examples from 12,000 direct sales stores, female farmer enterprises, and the Pal System Consumers Cooperative Union.
CSA & TeikeiFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsFood miles & supply chainWhat is the Deal with Local Food Systems: Or, Local Food Systems from a Regional Science Perspective
2007David W. Hughes, Daniel Eades, Kenneth L. Robinson, Carlos E. Carpio, Isengildina, Olga, Cheryl Brown, Hughes, David W., Eades, Daniel C., Robinson, Kenneth L., Carpio, Carlos E., Isengildina, Olga, Brown, Cheryl · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Global
This paper critiques the current literature on local food systems, which are promoted for local economic growth and reduced environmental impact, but often lack rigorous analysis from a regional science perspective. Using the Porter Diamond framework, it discusses how regional science can analyze local food systems as an economic development tool and assesses their potential environmental benefits.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood miles & supply chainClimate changeEat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket
2004Brian Halweil · · Global
This book points out that the long-distance food system consumes staggering amounts of fuel, generates greenhouse gases, and compromises food security. Since 1961, the tonnage of food shipped between nations has grown fourfold, with food in the United States typically traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate. While this system often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, a local-foods movement is beginning to emerge globally.
Environmental trade-offsFood miles & supply chainFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeUrban–rural linkage