Multifunctional Urban Agriculture for Sustainable Land Use Planning in the United States

Enhancing Urban Climate Resistance Through the Application of Selected Strategies and Technologies

Adapting cities for climate resilience is crucial as climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. This study outlines a comprehensive set of resilience strategies aimed at enhancing urban resilience across four key domains: water, food, shelter, and energy. These strategies, applicable to both new and existing neighborhoods, range from simple, short-term measures to complex, long-term initiatives. A three-pronged evaluation framework, consisting of three platforms, is introduced to assess these strategies where criteria are initially selected based on their impact on strategy adoption and implementation. This framework employs hypothetical scores and weights that can be adjusted for specific urban contexts through detailed studies. Key outcomes of the evaluation conducted in the first platform include a systematic method to rank strategies based on six criteria: cost, infrastructure impact, scalability, regulatory and zoning challenges, community acceptance, and maintenance needs. For example, community gardens and rainwater harvesting systems are highly scalable and accepted, whereas green roofs require more investment and maintenance. The second and third platform of the framework facilitate the identification of strategies that enhance resilience across each of the resilience domains, as well as across several domains. The results highlight the top-performing strategies under different weighted scenarios. Strategies like green roofs strategy scores high in domains like water management, due to its capacity to absorb and manage stormwater, and energy, by providing natural insulation that reduces heating and cooling demands. Additionally, green roofs contribute to food production when utilized for urban agriculture and enhance shelter by improving building durability and increasing biodiversity This data-driven framework supports the strategic prioritization of resilience strategies, enhancing urban planning and investment decisions globally. Its modularity ensures adaptability to diverse urban settings and climatic issues.

Does urban agriculture contribute to food security, and how might this be achieved?

OBJECTIVE

Food system challenges exacerbate inequalities in access to fresh healthy food and threaten food security. Lack of food security, referred to as food insecurity, is associated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes and has been identified as a key challenge to address by calls for food system transformation. Increasing food production through urban agriculture, the production of fruit and vegetables in urban areas, has been identified as a potentially effective contributor to food system transformation, but the effect of this on household or UK-level food security is unclear. This paper reviews international evidence of urban agriculture's impact on food security.

DESIGN

Narrative review.

SETTING

This paper reviews international evidence of urban agriculture's impact on food security.

PARTICIPANTS

Previously published international research.

RESULTS

Whilst findings are mixed, available evidence suggests that urban agriculture makes a modest, yet positive, contribution to food security by facilitating the availability of and access to fresh fruit and vegetables to food insecure households.

CONCLUSIONS

Capitalising on the potential for urban agriculture to benefit food security requires government investment and support at both the national and local levels; therefore, increasing access to land for food growing, reducing costs of related resources and collaboration with existing community groups to enhance sharing of skills and expertise are identified as avenues for exploration that may help to achieve this. This review also highlights opportunities for future research in this field that may strengthen the quality of the evidence supporting urban agriculture's impact on food security.

Determinants of adoption of urban agricultural practices in eastern Haraghe zone of Oromia region and Dire Dawa City administration, eastern Ethiopia

Although urban agriculture (UA) can aid economic development, food inflation, unemployment, and nutritional insecurity often necessitate urban households to engage in various agricultural practices. Hence, the study aimed to identify UA practices adopted and their determinants in the Eastern Haraghe zone of the Oromia region and Dire Dawa City Administration, Eastern Ethiopia. Data was collected from 385 randomly selected urban households using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a Multivariate Probit (MVP) model were used to analyze the data. The results of the MVP model reveal that sex, age, education level, land size, extension contact, credit access, community group participation, training, and household non-farm income significantly influenced vegetable farming adoption. On the other hand, livestock production adoption was also affected by factors such as sex, land size, perception, credit access, farming experience, community group participation, market distance, training, and non-farm income. Crop-fruit production adoption was also influenced by factors like age, perception, farming experience, market distance, training, and dependency ratio. Improving the ability to use the land for UA purposes, empowering female-headed households, improving livestock breeds, creating awareness through short-term training, and improving credit accessibility are important recommendations to enhance the adoption of UA practices in the study areas.

How to Achieve a Healthy City: a Scoping Review with Ten City Examples

This scoping review of the literature explores the following question: what systematic measures are needed to achieve a healthy city? The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests 11 characteristics of a healthy city. Measures contributing to these characteristics are extracted and classified into 29 themes. Implementation of some of these measures is illustrated by examples from Freiburg, Greater Vancouver, Singapore, Seattle, New York City, London, Nantes, Exeter, Copenhagen, and Washington, DC. The identified measures and examples indicate that a healthy city is a system of healthy sectors. A discussion section suggests healthy directions for nine sectors in a healthy city. These sectors include transportation, housing, schools, city planning, local government, environmental management, retail, heritage, and healthcare. Future work is advised to put more focus on characteristic 5 (i.e., the meeting of basic needs for all the city's people) and characteristic 10 (i.e., public health and sick care services accessible to all) of a healthy city.

Scale up urban agriculture to leverage transformative food systems change, advance social-ecological resilience and improve sustainability

Scaling up urban agriculture could leverage transformative change, to build and maintain resilient and sustainable urban systems. Current understanding of drivers, processes and pathways for scaling up urban agriculture, however, remains fragmentary and largely siloed in disparate disciplines and sectors. Here we draw on multiple disciplinary domains to present an integrated conceptual framework of urban agriculture and synthesize literature to reveal its social-ecological effects across scales. We demonstrate plausible multi-phase developmental pathways, including dynamics, accelerators and feedback associated with scaling up urban agriculture. Finally, we discuss key considerations for scaling up urban agriculture, including diversity, heterogeneity, connectivity, spatial synergies and trade-offs, nonlinearity, scale and polycentricity. Our framework provides a transdisciplinary roadmap for policy, planning and collaborative engagement to scale up urban agriculture and catalyse transformative change towards more robust urban resilience and sustainability.

Promoting Beneficial Arthropods in Urban Agroecosystems: Focus on Flowers, Maybe Not Native Plants

(1) Urbanization threatens biodiversity, yet urban native plants support native biodiversity, contributing to conservation and ecosystem services. Within urban agroecosystems, where non-native plants are abundant, native plants may boost the abundance and richness of beneficial arthropods. Nevertheless, current information focuses on pollinators, with little attention being paid to other beneficials, like natural enemies. (2) We examined how the species richness of native plants, garden management, and landscape composition influence the abundance and species richness of all, native, and non-native bees, ladybeetles, ants, and ground-foraging spiders in urban agroecosystems (i.e., urban community gardens) in California. (3) We found that native plants (~10% of species, but only ~2.5% of plant cover) had little influence on arthropods, with negative effects only on non-native spider richness, likely due to the low plant cover provided by native plants. Garden size boosted native and non-native bee abundance and richness and non-native spider richness; floral abundance boosted non-native spider abundance and native and non-native spider richness; and mulch cover and tree and shrub abundance boosted non-native spider richness. Natural habitat cover promoted non-native bee and native ant abundance, but fewer native ladybeetle species were observed. (4) While native plant richness may not strongly influence the abundance and richness of beneficial arthropods, other garden management features could be manipulated to promote the conservation of native organisms or ecosystem services provided by native and non-native organisms within urban agroecosystems.

Nuts and berries from agroforestry systems in temperate regions can form the foundation for a healthier human diet and improved outcomes from diet-related diseases

Agroforestry is a specific type of agroecosystem that includes trees and shrubs with the potential to yield nutrient-rich products that contribute to human health. This paper reviews the literature on the human health benefits of tree nut and berry species commonly associated with agroforestry systems of the United States, considering their potential for preventing certain diet-related diseases. Emphasis is placed on those diseases that are most closely associated with poor outcomes from COVID-19, as they are indicators of confounding health prognoses. Results indicate that tree nuts reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, and walnuts (Juglans species) are particularly effective because of their unique fatty acid profile. Berries that are grown on shrubs have the potential to contribute to mitigation of hypertension, prevention of Type II diabetes, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. To optimize human health benefits, plant breeding programs can focus on the traits that enhance the naturally-occurring phytochemicals, through biofortification. Value-added processing techniques should be selected and employed to preserve the phytonutrients, so they are maintained through the point of consumption. Agroforestry systems can offer valuable human health outcomes for common diet-related diseases, in addition to providing many environmental benefits, particularly if they are purposefully designed with that goal in mind. The food system policies in the U.S. might be reoriented to prioritize these food production systems based on the health benefits.

Modeling a localized metropolitan food system in the Midwest USA: Life cycle impacts of scenarios for Des Moines, Iowa

Food systems are energy-intensive, causing ≈25 % of anthropogenic global warming potential (GWP) and contributing to challenges across the food-energy-water nexus. The state of Iowa, USA, is of particular interest as a rainfed agricultural region of the upper Midwest; despite its highly productive landscape, a large proportion of food consumed by Iowa residents is imported. This study focused on the Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area (DM-MSA), a six-county area in central Iowa with a 2020 population of ≈700,000. A life cycle assessment approach was used to quantify environmental impacts (GWP, fossil energy and water consumption, land use); scenarios modeled provision and consumption of 50 % of nutritional requirements for the current DM-MSA population by food group (e.g., grains, proteins, vegetables). The four DM-MSA food system scenarios were: 1) current conditions (baseline), 2) local production for 50 % of food, 3) consumption changed to follow USA dietary guidelines, and 4) combined changes to production and consumption. Localizing food production reduced all environmental impacts more than following USA dietary guidelines. Compared to the baseline, 50 % local production scenarios reduced GWP and energy consumption (18-24 %) and water use (35-41 %) annually. Decreases by food group were least for protein (-10 % GWP) and greatest for fruits and vegetables (-58-62 % GWP). Local scenario alternatives could further reduce some environmental impacts if paired with a nutritionally- and environmentally-optimized diet (EAT-Lancet) providing the greatest change (-30-38 % for GWP and energy use) compared to the local scenario. A 50 % local production scenario for the DM-MSA could decrease GWP by 102 million CO_2eq yr^-1 and water use by 44 billion L yr^-1. However, this would require dietary changes based on seasonal food availability. Further development and co-simulation with other metropolitan-scale biophysical and social models will enhance understanding of food system drivers and support effective decision-making for urban food system improvements in the Midwest.

Multiple ecosystem service synergies and landscape mediation of biodiversity within urban agroecosystems

Ecosystem services (ESs) are essential for human well-being, especially in urban areas where 60% of the global population will live by 2030. While urban habitats have the potential to support biodiversity and ES, few studies have quantified the impact of local and landscape management across a diverse suite of services. We leverage 5 years of data (>5000 observations) across a network of urban community gardens to determine the drivers of biodiversity and ES trade-offs and synergies. We found multiple synergies and few trade-offs, contrasting previous assumptions that food production is at odds with biodiversity. Furthermore, we show that natural landscape cover interacts with local management to mediate services provided by mobile animals, specifically pest control and pollination. By quantifying the factors that support a diverse suite of ES, we highlight the critical role of garden management and urban planning for optimizing biodiversity and human benefit.

Entomological drivers of uneven malaria transmission in urban lowland areas in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire

BACKGROUND

The use of urban lowlands for agriculture contributes to the food security of city- dwellers, but promotes malaria transmission. The objective of the study was to characterize the entomological drivers of malaria transmission in two lowlands (N'Gattakro and Odiennekourani) in the city of Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire.

METHODS

The human landing catch technique was used to capture mosquitoes in houses located at the edge of two lowlands in Bouaké from February to December 2019. Cultivated surfaces were calculated monthly in both lowlands for each crop type (rice and market gardening) using images acquired by a drone. The different mosquito species were identified morphologically and by PCR analysis for the Anopheles gambiae complex. Anopheles infection by Plasmodium parasites was assessed by quantitative PCR. Mosquito diversity, biting behaviour and rhythmicity, and malaria transmission were determined in each lowland and compared.

RESULTS

Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) was predominant in N'Gattakro and Culex quinquefasciatus in Odiennekourani. Four Anopheles species were identified: An. gambiae s.l. and Anopheles funestus s.l. in both lowlands, Anopheles pharoensis in N'Gattakro, and Anopheles ziemanni in Odiennekourani. Within the An. gambiae complex, three species were caught: An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.), Anopheles coluzzii, and Anopheles arabiensis for the first time in Côte d'Ivoire (30.1%, 69.9% and 0% in N'Gattakro, and 45.1%, 52.6% and 2.4% in Odiennekourani, respectively). Anopheles gambiae s.l. species exhibited a significant exophagic behaviour in N'Gattakro (77.1% of outdoor bites versus 52.2% in Odiennekourani). In N'Gattakro, 12.6% of captures occurred before bedtime (09.00 pm) and after waking up (05.00 am), 15.1% in Odiennekourani. The mean human biting rate was higher in N'Gattakro than in Odiennekourani (61.6 versus 15.5 bites per person per night). Overall, Anopheles infection rate was 0.68%, with 0.539 and 0.029 infected bites per person per night in N'Gattakro and Odiennekourani, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The risk of malaria in urban agricultural lowland areas is uneven. The role of agricultural developments and irrigation patterns in the production of larval habitat should be explored. The exophagic behaviour of Anopheles vectors raises the question of the residual transmission that needs to be assessed to implement appropriate control strategies.

Evolution and expansion of the One Health approach to promote sustainable and resilient health and well-being: A call to action

One Health is a transdisciplinary approach used to address complex concerns related to human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health. One Health frameworks and operational tools are available to support countries and communities, particularly for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance and the protection of food safety. However, One Health has yet to be implemented in a manner that fully considers the complexities and interconnectedness of the diverse influences that have impacts at a larger system level. This lack of consideration can undermine the sustainability of any positive outcomes. To ensure the One Health approach can function effectively within the new global context of converging and escalating health, social, economic, and ecological crises, it must evolve and expand in three overlapping dimensions: (1) Scope: the partners, knowledge, and knowledge systems included, (2) Approach: the techniques, methodologies, and scholarship considered, and (3) Worldview inclusivity: the interweaving of other worldviews together with the mainstream scientific worldview that currently predominates. Diverse partners and knowledge from outside the mainstream health and scientific sectors, including Indigenous peoples and representatives of local communities, and traditionally generated knowledge, must be included. These systems of knowledge can then be braided together with mainstream science to comprise a holistic framework for decision-making. Scholarship and methodologies being applied in other fields and contexts to solve complex challenges and manage uncertainty, such as collaborative governance, social-ecologic systems theory, and complexity science, must be recognized and incorporated. The spectrum of considered worldviews must also expand to authentically integrate the expanded scope and approach into action and sustainable impact. By increasing community and social engagement and by recognizing and entwining different worldviews, the plurality of disciplines, and traditional and scientific ways of knowing to address community concerns in the contexts in which they exist, we can ensure that One Health remains effective and true to its paradigm in our rapidly changing and complex world.

The Human Ecosystem Spatial Networks of Amman City Center: A New Methodological Approach towards Resiliency

The human ecosystems embrace complex human-dominated systems, which often result in disparaging multifaceted social and ecological outcomes in various localities of the world. Green infrastructure (GI) with a well-planned and managed spatial organization and network of multifunctional landscapes does not only help improve the quality of life, but also promotes the multifunctional use of natural capital and enhances the resiliency of urban systems by enabling “disaster risk reduction”, or “DRR”, in real practice. To achieve more socially and ecologically resilient cities, the engagement of GI into the spatial network of the human ecosystem is inevitable. Moving on from this argument, the research utilizes several quantitative analysis tools, including space syntax methodology, graph theory, depth map analysis, linkage mapper analysis, and Arc-GIS to model the complex spatial patterns of the human ecosystem in the city center of Amman. To conclude, the study provides both theoretical evidence and practical assessment tools for the implementation of urban GI towards the sustenance of the social and ecological resiliency and NDRR within complex inner-city human ecosystems. The theoretical framework of this study embraces a novel contribution toward how resiliency and DRR theories can be merged into real practice through the utilization of a new methodological approach wherein the analysis, measurement, and visualization of human ecosystem spatial networks can be realized.

Agroforestry Contributions to Urban River Rehabilitation

The context of urban rivers is one of pollution of their courses, the degradation of riparian habitats, the loss of biodiversity, and the marginalization of the human populations that live next to them. Due to urban growth, the hydrological dynamics in entire basins and the hydromorphology of rivers are changing. This situation increases flooding, decreases the availability of water for human use, and disconnects the rivers from the dynamics of the city. Agroforestry is the integration of cultural, wild, and domesticated diversity with use, conservation, and restoration objectives. These practices in cities can contribute to addressing the problems mentioned. We analyze agroforestry practices and the socio-ecological contributions to urban river rehabilitation. We review 37 experiences worldwide. Agroforestry practices included in the review are trees and hedgerows; wetland agroforestry; aquatic, botanical, edible, educational, and rain gardens; bioswales; green parking lots; food forestry; vegetation in alleys and streets; vertical terrace walls, among others. Agroforestry contributes to efforts to solve urban river problems, improve water quality and access, restore riparian habitats, enhance river hydromorphology, support local economies, and create a river culture. We emphasize promoting multi-relational people–river interactions based on theoretical and practical frameworks that integrate diverse disciplines, perspectives, and experiences.

Pivotal role of municipal wastewater resource recovery facilities in urban agriculture: A review

Urban agriculture provides a promising, comprehensive solution to water, energy, and food scarcity challenges resulting from the population growth, urbanization, and the accelerating effects of anthropogenic climate change. Their close access to consumers, profitable business models, and important roles in educational, social, and physical entertainment benefit both developing and developed nations. In this sense, Urban Water Resource Reclamation Facilities (WRRFs) can play a pivotal role in the sustainable implementation of urban agriculture. Reclaimed water as a recovered resource has less supply variability and in certain cases can be of higher quality than other water sources used in agriculture. Another recovered resource, namely, biosolids, as byproduct from wastewater treatment can be put to beneficial use as fertilizers, soil amendments, and construction material additives. The renewable electricity, heat, CO2, and bioplastics produced from WRRFs can also serve as essential resources in support of urban agriculture operation with enhanced sustainability. In short, this review exhibits a holistic picture of the state-of-the-art of urban agriculture in which WRRFs can potentially play a pivotal role. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Reclaimed water can be of higher quality than other sources used in urban agriculture. Biosolids can be put to beneficial use as fertilizers, soil amendments, and construction material additives. The renewable electricity, heat, CO2, and bioplastics produced can also serve as essential resources in support of urban agriculture.

Application of UAV remote sensing and machine learning to model and map land use in urban gardens

Urban gardens are an integral part of urban agricultural systems, contributing to ecosystem services, biodiversity and human wellbeing. These systems occur at fine scales, can be highly complex and therefore offer the opportunity to test mechanisms of ecological patterns and processes. The capacity to confidently characterize urban gardens and their land uses is still lacking, while it could provide the basis for assessing ecosystem service provision. Land classifications from remote sensing platforms are common at the landscape scale, but imagery often lacks the resolution required to map differences in land use of fine-scale systems such as urban gardens. Here, we present a workflow to model and map land use in urban gardens using imagery from an unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) and machine learning. Due to high resolutions (<5 cm) from image acquisition at low altitudes, UAV remote sensing is better suited to characterize urban land use. We mapped six common land uses in 10 urban community gardens, exhibiting distinct spatial arrangements. Our models had good predictive performance, reaching 80% overall prediction accuracy in independent validation and up to 95% when assessing model performance per cover class. Extracting spatial metrics from these land use classifications, we found that at the garden and plot scale, plant species richness can be estimated by the total area and patchiness of crops. Land use classifications like these can offer an accessible tool to assess complex urban habitats and justify the importance of urban agriculture as a service-providing system, contributing to the sustainability and livability of cities.

The Socio-Cultural Benefits of Urban Agriculture: A Review of the Literature

Despite extensive literature on the socio-cultural services of urban open spaces, the role of food-producing spaces has not received sufficient attention. This hampers advocacy for preserving and growing urban agricultural activities, often dismissed on justifications that their contributions to overall food supply are negligible. To understand how the social benefits of urban agriculture have been measured, we conducted a systematic review of 272 peer-reviewed publications, which drew on insights from urban agriculture sites in 57 different countries. Through content analysis, we investigated socio-cultural benefits in four spheres: engaged and cohesive communities, health and well-being, economic opportunities, and education. The analysis revealed growth in research on the social impacts of gardens and farms, with most studies measuring the effects on community cohesion and engagement, followed by increased availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables associated with reduced food insecurity and better health. Fewer studies assessed the impact of urban farming on educational and economic outcomes. Quantifying the multiple ways in which urban agriculture provides benefits to people will empower planners and the private sector to justify future investments. These findings are also informative for research theorizing cities as socio-ecological systems and broader efforts to measure the benefits of urban agriculture, in its many forms.

Defining a Pedagogical Framework for Integrating Buildings and Landscapes in Conjunction with Social Sustainability Discourse in the Architecture Graduate Design Studio

The primary objective of this research is to define a pedagogy framework for architecture Graduate Design Studio. The proposed pedagogy framework pursues the following three principal objectives: The first objective focuses on buildings and landscapes and the interconnection between them. Such connectivity facilitates a ground for walkability. The second goal is to incorporate green elements within buildings and landscapes with regard to increasing the percentage of available green spaces within contemporary and future cities, which may encourage human respect for nature. The third objective promotes the notion that contemporary and future built environments should be envisioned as environments wherein fresh local food can be cultivated, processed and distributed. It incorporates urban agriculture within buildings and landscapes. The Graduate Studio pedagogy focuses on the concept of social sustainability. The three mentioned objectives of the framework are in line with the core concept of social sustainability, which includes improving the well-being and quality of life of contemporary and future urban dwellers. Overall, the Graduate Studio envisions buildings and landscapes as pedestrian environments, as grounds where green elements are incorporated and local fresh food is cultivated. The mentioned framework has been implemented within the Graduate Studio. Four design project samples are presented as successful precedents.

Toward Sustainable Communities: A Case Study of the Eastern Market in Detroit

Community development tends to focus on large-scale, government-funded transformations or on small-scale, grassroot initiatives. In the US, the financial resources, available infrastructure, and broad-based civic support to implement large-scale community transformations are frequently lacking. In contrast, niche interventions, while often locally successful, tend to be unscalable. Accordingly, many community development programs either do not go beyond an ideational stage, or they are unscalable or unsustainable in the long run. In this qualitative case study, we analyze the Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan, a local institution that contributes considerably and in several ways to the sustainability of multiple communities. Using Content Configuration Analysis (CCA), we conduct a bottom-up exploratory analysis of fieldwork notes, nonparticipant observations, as well as audio, visual, and written materials including policy and strategy documents from the City of Detroit, Wayne County, and the State of Michigan, academic publications, strategy and annual reports, websites, blogs, vlogs, social media outlets, newspapers, podcasts, and interviews along two lines of inquiry: first, to examine how the market contributes to sustainable community development and, second, to explore the systemic underpinnings that facilitate such development. Specifically, we focus on the Eastern Market to identify system-relevant actors, interests, relations, interventions, and outcomes that illustrate an institution which operates well beyond the ideational confines of a conventional farmers market. In the process of exploring the adaptive nature of the Eastern Market within its financial and infrastructural constraints, we also exemplify with this case that a well-established institution, a farmers market, can reinvent itself to serve multiple needs of larger, heterogeneous communities, and that the successful adaptations associated with this reinvention reimagine the community in which it is embedded.

An Ecosystem Service Approach to Assessing Agro-Ecosystems in Urban Landscapes

Creating sustainable urban landscapes in light of growing population pressures requires interdisciplinary multi-functional solutions. Alternative agro-ecosystems described as food forests, permaculture gardens, and/or edible landscapes among others could offer potential ways to address the social, economic, and ecological goals of various stakeholders simultaneously. Current research is lacking a comprehensive tool that can assess the performance of alternative agro-ecosystems that have both functional and aesthetic values. The present research uses a novel rubric, the Permaculture and Agro-ecosystems Sustainability Scorecard (PASS) that combines agricultural sustainability and ecosystem services (ES) indicators in order to assess alternative agro-ecosystems. The rubric evaluates provisioning, regulating, supporting, economic and cultural ES and includes benefits such as pollinator presence, increased biodiversity, alternative pesticides and fertilizer use, carbon sequestration, food security, and human interactions. Based on the concepts and principles drawn from four popular frameworks and sub-disciplines, namely, SAFE, SITES, permaculture, and agroecology, we identify sixteen broad ES indicators and 59 sub-indices and measure them using data collected through site observation, survey, interviews, and documentary research. For easy comparison across different urban agriculture sites, the above sub-indices are further aggregated into five ES criteria using stakeholder-informed weights. The weights are developed through pair-wise comparison of criteria by sample survey respondents. The PASS framework is used to score twelve sites in South Florida that meet specific criteria in the small farm, residential, and public space categories. Sample respondents place the highest weight on cultural services. Contrary to the popular notion of promoting urban agriculture for food security, the results show that the majority of the sites score highest in the supporting services provided, followed by regulating and cultural services, and lowest in the economic services category. The supporting service for most of the sample sites score consistently very high, close to the highest possible level of 5.0. There is a wide variation in provisioning and economic values across the study sites. The paper offers several ideas for mainstreaming the ES indicators into urban planning and decision-making and some of the practical difficulties one might face along the way. We conclude that in order to realize the broader ES benefits of urban agriculture in particular and agro-ecosystems in general, a multi-pronged policy and planning approach is necessary.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil health in urban agriculture

There is a paucity of data on the state of urban agriculture soils. In order to develop efficient management practices, it is necessary to understand the seasonal dynamics of the soil health of these systems. This study sampled two community gardens, and one commercial urban agriculture site on a monthly basis over the span of one year. The dynamic analysis examined soil nutritional, chemical and microbial properties. Plant biodiversity was significantly higher in community gardens compared to commercial sites. Analysis of soil nutrients revealed fluctuations of mineral nitrogen with seasonal conditions and consistently high concentrations of plant-available phosphorus. We identified gradually decreasing soil total nitrogen and carbon concentrations throughout the year. Soils were abundant in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spores. Soil metabarcoding using 16S and ITS amplicons revealed a seasonal gradient of the microbial diversity and changes after the application of organic fertilizer. Soil-borne potential human pathogens were also detected in the soils. The results of this study provide relevant information about soil management principles in urban agriculture systems. These principles include mulching and the use of nutrient-balanced composts to counteract decreasing carbon pools and the excessive accumulation of phosphorus.

Practices and Barriers to Sustainable Urban Agriculture: A Case Study of Louisville, Kentucky

As urban populations increase, there is growing interest in developing innovative technologies, sustainable urban farming practices, policy measures, and other strategies to address key barriers in urban agriculture that impede improved food security and sustained urban livelihoods. We surveyed forty urban farmers and gardeners (growers) in Louisville, Kentucky, for base-level information to assess their agricultural practices and the various factors or key barriers that could influence such practices. Secondary objectives were identifying areas where practices could be improved, and identifying opportunities for research, outreach, and incentives for urban growers to transition to more sustainable and higher-yielding practices. The majority of these urban growers were white females, were more diverse than Kentucky farmers, and attained a higher degree of education than Kentucky residents as a whole. Most were engaged in urban agriculture for non-commercial reasons, and 11% were full-time urban growers operating farms for profit. Smaller farms were less likely to be operated for profit or have farm certifications than medium-sized or larger farms (Chi-squared = 14.459, p = 0.042). We found no significant differences among farm sizes in terms of whether growers rented or owned the land they were on (Chi-squared = 9.094, p = 0.168). The most common sustainable practices recorded were composting (60%), crop rotation (54%), polyculture (54%), organic farming (49%), and low or no-till (46%). The least common practices were alley cropping (5%), plasticulture (3%), and hydroponics (3%). Small farms were less likely to use crop rotation than medium-sized or large farms (Chi-squared = 13.548, p = 0.003), and farms responding to the survey in the latter part of the data collection were less likely to use compost than expected based on responses from the early part of data collection (Chi-shared = 5.972, p = 0.014). Challenges faced by these growers included limited space, accessibility to farm certification, presence of pests and diseases, and lack of record keeping and soil testing for fertility and contamination. Our study documents the need for more farm certification, education, outreach, training, research, investment, innovative ideas and solutions, collaboration among stakeholders, and better access to land through favorable urban policies and local support.

Potential Key Factors, Policies, and Barriers for Rooftop Agriculture in EU Cities: Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, and Paris

The main objective of this study is to contribute a framework and to provide an overview of potential key factors, policies, and barriers associated with the integration of rooftop urban agriculture (RUA), building on stakeholders' perspectives in four European cities (Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, and Paris). The research was developed in two phases, namely, a workshop and a survey of stakeholders involved in RUA from the four cities. Education, environmental, research, technological innovation, food production, and social factors play an important role in implementing RUA. Productive spaces, cultural values, social cohesion, social rural-urban links, and the high cost of urban land are highlighted as factors that “promote” RUA. In contrast, the cost of water and pollution are major contextual factors that constrain RUA. Policies related to food trade and urban planning are those that most limit RUA development. Major architectural and technical barriers related to the limits on building heights, historical buildings, a lack of specific building codes, building design and roof accessibility were identified. The high cost of infrastructure and policies that prohibit RUA product sales emerged as economic constraints. Major differences among the cities studied included the perceived effect of urban policies on RUA diffusion as well as the perceived relevance of economic and pollution factors. This study revealed that extensive dissemination and the development of appropriate information about RUA are needed. The creation of new regulations, as well as modifications to urban and building codes to support RUA, is also envisaged. This approach will consider a more flexible land-use policy that allows agriculture to take place in cities as well as marketing frameworks for RUA products. For future studies, it would be useful to apply the framework developed in this study to a larger sample. A study is also needed to confirm hypothetical differences between cities.

Promoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review

Multifunctionality of urban agriculture can support the resolve of many urban challenges. Therefore, it is vital to understand the contribution of academic studies on urban agriculture practices as scientific information. The present study followed a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA method. Finally, 54 identified articles were analyzed. The review study mainly examined the contribution of academic literature on urban agriculture under four dimensions: the socio-economic context of the country, type of agriculture model, opportunities, and challenges. The results revealed the focus of academic literature on urban agriculture to show favoritism toward developed countries’ community gardens. Moreover, the leading academic focus on this discipline identifies multifunctionality. People’s motivations in developed countries tend to favor social, health-related, and educational benefits of urban agriculture; however, in developing countries, urban agriculture is more related to economic and ecological needs. Challenges for urban agriculture are also different among developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, existing academic studies have given comparatively less attention to identifying challenges, benefit groups of urban agriculture, and government support. Since urban agriculture is highly reliant on local factors, studying more about opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture under different socio-economic contexts and different agriculture models could be more beneficial to connect farming practices in cities with urban planning. Therefore, to make an adequate academic contribution to urban sustainability, future urban agriculture studies need to be more holistic.

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

Attention to urban agriculture (UA) has recently grown among practitioners, scientists, and the public, resulting in several initiatives worldwide. Despite the positive perception of modern UA and locally grown, fresh produce, the potential food safety risks connected to these practices may be underestimated, leading to regulatory gaps. Thus, there is a need for assessment tools to evaluate the food safety risks connected to specific UA initiatives, to assist practitioners in self-evaluation and control, and to provide policy makers and scholars a means to pursue and assess food safety in city regions, avoiding either a lack or an excess of regulation that could ultimately hinder the sector. To address this aim, this paper reviews the most recent and relevant literature on UA food safety assessments. Food safety indicators were identified first. Then, a food safety assessment framework for UA initiatives was developed. The framework uses business surveys and food analyses (if available) as a data source for calculating a food safety index for single UA businesses and the whole UA landscape of a given city region. The proposed framework was designed to allow its integration into the CRFS (City Region Food System) toolkit developed by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), RUAF foundation (Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security) and Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Connection of several biological and chemical food safety risks to UA techniques.

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Identifiable food safety risk factors for diverse UA practices.

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Framework for the assessment of food safety levels of UA initiatives.

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Development of a risk-based assessment that can be integrated into the FAO CRFS framework.

Facilitating Multifunctional Green Infrastructure Planning in Washington, DC through a Tableau Interface

Multifunctional urban green infrastructure (UGI) can regulate stormwater, mitigate heat islands, conserve biodiversity and biocultural diversity, and produce food, among other functions. Equitable governance of UGI requires new tools for sharing pertinent information. Our goal was to develop a public-access geographic information system (GIS) that can be used for comprehensive UGI planning in Washington, DC (the District) and to create an e-tool for UGI in the form of Tableau dashboards. The dashboards allow stakeholders to identify (1) existing UGI and (2) potential areas for new UGI including urban agriculture (UA). They also allow users to manipulate the data and identify priority locations for equitable UGI development by applying population vulnerability indices and other filters. We demonstrate use of the dashboards through scenarios focusing on UA in the District, which currently has 150 ha of existing UGI in the form of documented projects and an additional 2734 ha potentially suitable for UGI development. A total of 2575 ha is potentially suitable for UA, with 56% of that area in Wards 5, 7, and 8, which are largely food deserts and whose residents are primarily Black and experience the greatest inequities. Our work can serve as a model for similar digital tools in other locales using Tableau and other platforms.

Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as a Tool for Food Security and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: The Case of Mestre

Urban and peri-urban areas are subject to major societal challenges, like food security, climate change, biodiversity, resource efficiency, land management, social cohesion, and economic growth. In that context, Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (UPA), thanks to its multifunctionality, could have a high value in providing social, economic, and environmental co-benefits. UPA is an emerging field of research and production that aims to improve food security and climate change impact reduction, improving urban resilience and sustainability. In this paper, a replicable GIS-based approach was used to localize and quantify available areas for agriculture, including both flat rooftop and ground-level areas in the mainland of the city of Venice (Italy). Then, possible horticultural yield production was estimated considering common UPA yield value and average Italian consumption. Climate change mitigation, like CO2 reduction and sequestration, and climate change adaptation, like Urban Flooding and Urban Heat Island reduction, due to the new UPA areas’ development were estimated. Despite the urban density, the identified areas have the potential to produce enough vegetables for the residents and improve climate change mitigation and adaptation, if transformed into agricultural areas. Finally, the paper concludes with a reflection on the co-benefits of UPA multifunctionality, and with some policy suggestions.

Berry Quality and Anthocyanin Content of 'Consort' Black Currants Grown under Artificial Shade

The effect of artificial shade on berry quality parameters for the field-grown black currant cultivar ‘Consort’ were investigated over two growing seasons in Urbana, Illinois. Four shade treatments reduced photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) from 37 to 83%. Shade had no effect on soluble solids in up to 65% PAR reduction but decreased 11% in 83% shade in one of two years. Shade increased titratable acidity up to 23% in both years. The effect of shade on anthocyanin content revealed greater variation between years than treatments. Shade influence on anthocyanin content was only observed in 2017, when cyanidin derivatives decreased 13–14% from open-sun to 83% shade. Shade did not affect delphinidin derivatives in either year. Environmental factors other than artificial shade may impact black currant berry quality in an understory environment. The results of our study indicate that black currants can maintain berry quality with PAR reductions up to 65%, but some berry quality parameters may decrease when PAR reductions exceed 65% of full sun.

Long-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has forced global food systems to face unprecedented uncertain shocks even in terms of human health. Urban agriculture is expected to be more resilient because of its short supply chain for urban people and diversified farming activities. However, the short-and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on urban farms remain unclear. This study aims to reveal the conditions for farm resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the relationship between short-term farm resilience and long-term farm development using data from a survey of 74 farms located in Tokyo. The results are as follows. First, more than half of the sample farms increased their farm sales during this period. This resilience can be called the “persistence” approach. Second, short-term farm resilience and other sustainable farm activities contributed to improving farmers’ intentions for long-term farm development and farmland preservation. Third, the most important resilience attributes were the direct marketing, entrepreneurship, and social networks of farmers. We discussed the necessity of building farmers’ transformative capabilities for a more resilient urban farming system. These results imply that support to enhance the short-term resilience of urban farms is worth more than the short-term profit of the farms.

Assessing the Direct Resource Requirements of Urban Horticulture in the United Kingdom: A Citizen Science Approach

Interest in urban food production is growing; recent research has highlighted its potential to increase food security and reduce the environmental impact of food production. However, resource demands of urban horticulture are poorly understood. Here, we use allotment gardens in the United Kingdom to investigate resource demands of urban horticultural production across the country. We conducted a nationwide citizen science project using year-long allotment ‘diaries’ with allotment gardeners (n = 163). We analysed a variety of resources: transportation; time; water use; inputs of compost, manure and topsoil; and inputs of fertilisers, pest control and weed control. We found that, overall, an allotment demands 87 annual visits, travelling 139 km to and from the plot; 7 fertiliser additions; 4 pest control additions; and 2 weed control additions. On average, each kilogram of food produced used 0.4 hours’ labour, 16.9 L of water, 0.2 L of topsoil, 2.2 L of manure, and 1.9 L of compost. As interest in urban horticultural production grows, and policy makers build urban horticultural spaces into future sustainable cities, it is of key importance that this is carried out in a way that minimises resource requirements, and we demonstrate here that avenues exist for the diversion of municipal compostable waste and household-level city food waste for this purpose.

Making seawalls multifunctional: The positive effects of seeded bivalves and habitat structure on species diversity and filtration rates

The marine environment is being increasingly modified by the construction of artificial structures, the impacts of which may be mitigated through eco-engineering. To date, eco-engineering has predominantly aimed to increase biodiversity, but enhancing other ecological functions is arguably of equal importance for artificial structures. Here, we manipulated complexity through habitat structure (flat, and 2.5 cm, 5 cm deep vertical and 5 cm deep horizontal crevices) and seeding with the native oyster (Saccostrea glomerata, unseeded and seeded) on concrete tiles (0.25 m × 0.25 m) affixed to seawalls to investigate whether complexity (both orientation and depth of crevices) influences particle removal rates by suspension feeders and colonisation by different functional groups, and whether there are any ecological trade-offs between these functions. After 12 months, complex seeded tiles generally supported a greater abundance of suspension feeding taxa and had higher particle removal rates than flat tiles or unseeded tiles. The richness and diversity of taxa also increased with complexity. The effect of seeding was, however, generally weaker on tiles with complex habitat structure. However, the orientation of habitat complexity and the depth of the crevices did not influence particle removal rates or colonising taxa. Colonisation by non-native taxa was low compared to total taxa richness. We did not detect negative ecological trade-offs between increased particle removal rates and diversity and abundance of key functional groups. Our results suggest that the addition of complexity to marine artificial structures could potentially be used to enhance both biodiversity and particle removal rates. Consequently, complexity should be incorporated into future eco-engineering projects to provide a range of ecological functions in urbanised estuaries.

Supporting Bees in Cities: How Bees Are Influenced by Local and Landscape Features

Simple Summary

Cities are complex ecosystems that, while generally contributing to an overall reduction in biodiversity, can support surprisingly unique communities of organisms including bees. Bees are both ecologically and economically essential, therefore preserving and conserving these insects represents a significant challenge as cities continue to expand and diminish surrounding landscapes. Some attempts to support bees in cities have included establishing and improving urban green spaces. Exactly how bees and, to a lesser extent, other pollinators respond to these green spaces in addition to other urban landscape and local features, however, remains incompletely understood. Therefore, this review summarizes the current literature and generalizable trends in pollinator response to urban landscape and local features. While some functional traits or characteristics of bees such as dietary breadth and nesting strategy are more conclusively understood and supported, other characteristics such as sociality remain less generalizable. Lack of knowledge on bee responses to city features is in part due to the individual variation exhibited across different groups and species. To promote greater biodiversity in urban spaces, research should focus on specific responses to urban local and landscape features and how green spaces can be optimized for sustainable bee conservation.

Abstract

Urbanization is a major anthropogenic driver of decline for ecologically and economically important taxa including bees. Despite their generally negative impact on pollinators, cities can display a surprising degree of biodiversity compared to other landscapes. The pollinating communities found within these environments, however, tend to be filtered by interacting local and landscape features that comprise the urban matrix. Landscape and local features exert variable influence on pollinators within and across taxa, which ultimately affects community composition in such a way that contributes to functional trait homogenization and reduced phylogenetic diversity. Although previous results are not easily generalizable, bees and pollinators displaying functional trait characteristics such as polylectic diet, cavity-nesting behavior, and later emergence appear most abundant across different examined cities. To preserve particularly vulnerable species, most notably specialists that have become underrepresented within city communities, green spaces like parks and urban gardens have been examined as potential refuges. Such spaces are scattered across the urban matrix and vary in pollinator resource availability. Therefore, ensuring such spaces are optimized for pollinators is imperative. This review examines how urban features affect pollinators in addition to ways these green spaces can be manipulated to promote greater pollinator abundance and diversity.

How Does Urban Farming Benefit Participants' Health? A Case Study of Allotments and Experience Farms in Tokyo

In Japan, the world's most rapidly aging country, urban farming is attracting attention as an infrastructure for health activities. In Tokyo, urban residents generally participate in two types of farming programs: allotments and experience farms. The availability of regular interaction among participants distinguishes these two programs. We quantitatively examined the difference in changes in self-reported health status between participants in these two types of urban farming. We obtained retrospective cross-sectional data from questionnaire surveys of 783 urban farming participants and 1254 nonparticipants and analyzed the data using ordinal logistic regressions. As a result, compared with nonparticipants, participants in both types of urban farming reported significantly improved self-rated health (SRH) and mental health (MH). After controlling for changes in their physical activity (PA), although participants in allotments did not report significant improvement in SRH and MH, those in experience farms did, suggesting that their health improvement was not only caused by an increase in PA but also by social interaction among participants. From the perspective of health promotion, public support is needed not only for the municipality's allotments but also for the experience farms operated by the farmers themselves.

Soil Lead Concentration and Speciation in Community Farms of Newark, New Jersey, USA

Farmed urban soils often bear legacies of historic contamination from anthropogenic and industrial sources. Soils from seven community farms in Newark, New Jersey (NJ), USA, were analyzed to determine the concentration and speciation of lead (Pb) depending on garden location and cultivation status. Samples were evaluated using single-step 1 M nitric acid (HNO3) and Tessier sequential extractions in combination with X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) analysis. Single-step extractable Pb concentration ranged from 22 to 830 mg kg−1, with 21% of samples reporting concentrations of Pb > 400 mg kg−1, which is the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) limit for residential soils. Sequential extractions indicated lowest Pb concentrations in the exchangeable fraction (0–211 mg kg−1), with highest concentrations (0–3002 mg kg−1) in the oxidizable and reducible fractions. For samples with Pb > 400 mg kg−1, Pb distribution was mostly uniform in particle size fractions of <0.125–1 mm, with slightly higher Pb concentrations in the <0.125 mm fraction. XAFS analysis confirmed that Pb was predominantly associated with pyromorphite, iron–manganese oxides and organic matter. Overall results showed that lowest concentrations of Pb are detected in raised beds, whereas uncultivated native soil and parking lot samples had highest values of Pb. As most of the Pb is associated with reducible and oxidizable soil fractions, there is a lower risk of mobility and bioavailability. However, Pb exposure through ingestion and inhalation pathways is still of concern when directly handling the soil. With increasing interest in urban farming in cities across the USA, this study highlights the need for awareness of soil contaminants and the utility of coupled macroscopic and molecular-scale geochemical techniques to understand the distribution and speciation of soil Pb.

Urban soil health: A city-wide survey of chemical and biological properties of urban agriculture soils

The integration of urban green spaces into modern city planning is seen as a promising tool to offset the drawbacks of ever-expanding cities. Urban agriculture is a common method to implement such strategies and to increase urban sustainability with a special focus on food security. Due to their location, urban farms are highly influenced by past and present anthropogenic activities which can threaten both soil health and food safety. This study includes 12 urban agriculture sites in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, Australia. It is the first of its kind to focus on soil health in urban agriculture systems with a further emphasis on mycorrhizal fungi. Descriptive information about each site, the biodiversity of the selected plots and soil samples from different depths and locations were collected and analysed for chemical and biological parameters. Seven metals, total and plant-available (Colwell) phosphorus and available nitrogen were measured in soils. A glasshouse bioassay was also conducted to determine the abundance of beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soils and the change of root colonization after inoculation with the mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. Results showed a generally high biodiversity of plants that correlated with site activity (commercial or community garden) and which could potentially be used for urban biodiversity conservation. Metal concentrations in soils were below national guidelines levels for all samples, although sites with previous industrial history showed elevated levels when compared to sites without industrial history. The use of raised beds with introduced soils eliminated differences in previous land-use history, thereby providing a good option to support cleaner production. Gardening soils were considered highly fertile, with plant-available (Colwell) P concentrations exceeding recommended levels for most horticultural crops, while soils were adequately supplied with nitrogen. Most plant nutrients were derived from freely available urban waste streams and integrated via composting. Various urban waste streams could be used to counter-act imbalanced soil nutrients. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were present in all sites, indicating that the practiced soil management is sustainable from a microbial perspective. Given their important role in supporting plant nutrition, and potential to reduce the need for external nutrient inputs, they provide an important focal point for achieving clean and sustainable urban food production. The results were incorporated into a framework for the management of urban soil health.

Urban Horticulture for Food Secure Cities through and beyond COVID-19

Sufficient production, consistent food supply, and environmental protection in urban +settings are major global concerns for future sustainable cities. Currently, sustainable food supply is under intense pressure due to exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources. The recent novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis has impacted sustainable fresh food supply, and has disrupted the food supply chain and prices significantly. Under these circumstances, urban horticulture and crop cultivation have emerged as potential ways to expand to new locations through urban green infrastructure. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the salient features of contemporary urban horticulture, in addition to illustrating traditional and innovative developments occurring in urban environments. Current urban cropping systems, such as home gardening, community gardens, edible landscape, and indoor planting systems, can be enhanced with new techniques, such as vertical gardening, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, and rooftop gardening. These modern techniques are ecofriendly, energy- saving, and promise food security through steady supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables to urban neighborhoods. There is a need, in this modern era, to integrate information technology tools in urban horticulture, which could help in maintaining consistent food supply during (and after) a pandemic, as well as make agriculture more sustainable.

Towards the Healthy Community: Residents’ Perceptions of Integrating Urban Agriculture into the Old Community Micro-Transformation in Guangzhou, China

In the renewal of old communities, one of the development directions is to improve health and enhance well-being. A healthy community includes four aspects of health, namely, healthy production, healthy lifestyle, healthy environment and ecosystem, and healthy physical and mental states of residents living in the community. Urban agriculture (UA), as a form of the community garden, is a supplementary form for the lack of production function in the urban community. It also has the potential to contribute to sustainable and resilient urban communities. This study focuses on analysing the health benefits of UA and attempts to identify old community residents’ attitudes and perceptions towards UA and understand their confusion and worry. The purpose of this study is to promote the healthy and sustainable development of old communities by integrating UA into the micro-transformation of old communities and provide planning and design strategies and community development ideas for the micro-transformation. Surveys were conducted on 10 old communities in Yuexiu district, located in Guangzhou, China. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM Statistical SPSS version 26 to obtain information on the factor structure of residents’ perceptions towards the health benefits of UA. The analysis results showed significant differences between gender groups and the status of children on old community residents’ perceptions towards general UA benefits. The main factors accounting for old community residents’ perceptions towards the health benefits of UA were environmental health benefits, physical and psychological health benefits, and community health benefits. When developing UA in old communities, co-construction and co-sharing mode, public participation mode, and promotion mode are three important development strategies. Construction location, design style, and seasonal design are also critical for the construction of UA in old communities.

Effects of Urbanization on Farmland Size and Diversified Farm Activities in Japan: An Analysis Based on the Land Parcel Database

Peri-urban agriculture (PUA) has been widely regarded as a sub-field of multifunctional agriculture for improving the sustainability of urban environments. However, urban sprawl has both negative and positive effects on peri-urban farming, and the research on this issue in Japan is insufficient. This study aims to demonstrate the spatial distribution of farmland parcels in Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas and explore the synergistic effect of distance from cities and urban sprawl on the size of farmland parcels and farm-diversified activities such as direct marketing, farming experience, and environmentally friendly practices. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Poisson regression analyses were used with a nationwide agricultural land parcel Geographic Information System (GIS) database (Tokyo metropolitan area = 1,939,162 and Osaka metropolitan area = 1,507,072 parcels), in Japan, to specify the farmland locations and calculate the extent of urban sprawl. The results revealed that more than 50% of farmlands in the targeted areas were located within 4 km from the boundaries of densely inhabited districts (DIDs). Furthermore, with a decreasing distance from a DID, the urban sprawl had more positive effects on farmland parcel sizes and farm-diversified activities. These findings imply that PUA has a wider presence in Japan, and the peri-urban farmers may be capable of utilizing the multifunctional nature of intensively sprawled urban environments.

Farm Differentiation Strategies and Sustainable Regional Development

The paper examines differentiation business strategies in food production in Braničevo-Podunavlje region (Serbia). The research methodology includes survey research focused on the producers engaged in the production of value-added agricultural products, which have a greater potential for differentiation and branding. A range of survey indicators enable farmers and entrepreneurs of differentiated products to emphasize key success factors, detect barriers, and generate business ideas and innovations. Survey research was conducted in the period December 2018–January 2019, among 67 farmers, legal entities, and unincorporated enterprises−producers of high-quality niche food products in Braničevo–Podunavlje region. Results of the research indicated vegetable and fruit processing, beekeeping, and milk processing as sectors of the most promising value-added food products, including those that form the region’s basket of products. The study’s findings should contribute to the development of differentiated business models in the food sector and strengthening their role in smart regional development.

Territorial Clusters of Farmers’ Interest in Diversification in Poland: Geospatial Location and Characteristics

With a gradual shift towards sustainable rural development, farm diversification has recently gained importance in EU policy. To increase the efficiency of policies aiming to support farm diversification, it is of crucial importance to know the factors motivating farmers to diversify. The purpose of this paper was to research spatial determinants of farm diversification in Poland by identifying and describing territorial clusters of rural areas (municipalities), in which farmers’ interest in diversification is above or below the national average. The Moran’s global spatial autocorrelation coefficient was used to test for spatial autocorrelation, while the local Moran’s statistic served to group together municipalities which exhibited a level of the frequency of applying for diversification support above/below the average value for the entire territory covered by the analysis. Furthermore, the clusters were described with the use of synthetic characteristics of the Polish agriculture and rural areas. The existence and characteristics of clusters suggest that the policy toward diversification in Poland favors areas of better developed agricultural structures. In clusters with structural disadvantages where diversification is most needed, the program’s performance has been very modest. However, our analysis also revealed the existence of outlier municipalities which demonstrated outstanding performance in applying for diversification funds despite structural disadvantages. These observations suggest that the farmers’ interest in diversification may be driven by a number of additional factors beyond a structural disadvantage alone.

Spatio-Temporal Coordination and Conflict of Production-Living-Ecology Land Functions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China

Assessment of multiple land use functions promotes both utilization efficiency of land and regional coordination. Different personal and public products and services are offered by various land use types, meaning their functionality varies. Lack of judgment on temporal trends, turning points, or consideration of multi-source indicators like the ecological and air quality index leads to uncertainties in urban multifunctionality evaluation and functional orientation. In this study, the production-living-ecology land use function index system and evaluation process was improved using an entropy weight, triangle model, and coupling coordination degree. The production-living-ecology land use function (PLELUF) is defined from land use multi-functions. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration was the representative area. The model was applied to quantify land use functions and measure spatio-temporal coordination and conflict from 1990 to 2015. Results found that the production and living functions displayed an overall upward trend and the growth rate of production function is larger, doubling from 1990 to 1995, while living function increases steadily. Ecology function remained steady from 1990 to 2000 but increased afterward. Land use function stage became balanced in ecology-living-production after 2005. No function-balanced cities existed in 1990; nine function-balanced cities were found in 2015. The coupling coordination degree increased from a slight conflict to a high coordination. Land use multi-functionality was high in the north and low in the south in 2015; Beijing had the most significant multifunctionality. This study can aid land use zoning and sustainable land management.

The Högdalen urban farm: a real case assessment of sustainability attributes

While urban indoor farming is a fairly new phenomenon, there is a growing interest from producers, authorities and consumers alike. However, many assumptions are made, and expectations held, about urban indoor farming from a sustainability, food production and food provisioning point of view. These assumptions and expectations need to be tested and assessed. This study assessed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a number of social aspects of a newly established indoor urban farm in Stockholm. The farm was the result of a project created by commercial, civil society and municipal actors with the aim to make use of unused urban space, create jobs and produce food. While lettuce grown on the indoor farm emitted more GHG than lettuce cultivated outdoors in Sweden, it was more climate friendly than imported lettuce in our comparison. Furthermore, the indoor farm created value for the actors involved and for the city district, albeit on a small scale. Many of the positive environmental and social features owed to the small scale of the indoor farm and the context in which it developed. Thus, when evaluating production systems like this one, we need to be cautious and refrain from extrapolating the results.

Optimizing Food Waste Composting Parameters and Evaluating Heat Generation

The optimal initial moisture content and seeding proportion with mature compost (microbial inoculant) during food waste composting were investigated. This involved six different moisture contents (42%, 55%, 61%, 66%, 70%, and 78%) and four different mature compost seeding amounts (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% w/w). The temperature variation of these different setups during the first four days of composting was used to determine the most effective one. Our findings showed that the initial moisture contents of 55–70% and the 20% w/w of mature compost were optimal for effective food waste composting. A 400 kg compost pile with the optimal compost mixture ratio was then used to study the evolution and spatial distribution of the temperature during a 30-day composting period. Finally, the heat produced during the 30-day composting process was estimated to be 2.99 MJ/kg. Further investigations, including a cost–benefit analysis from a pilot facility, would be required to comprehensively conclude the feasibility of food waste composting as a bioenergy source.

Location of Cows and Pigs in Suburban Areas of Polish Metropolitan Centers

The main aim of this paper was to assess the impact of socioeconomic and agricultural factors on cow and pig density in suburban areas located up to 50 km from the 11 biggest cities in Poland. This study relied on data retrieved from all municipalities located within 50 km from central cities. The impact of the previously mentioned socioeconomic and agricultural factors was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression analysis. This study shows that the lowest cow and pig density was recorded in the two inner rings. From 1996 to 2010, the gap between them and the levels recorded in other rings became much more pronounced. The analysis only corroborated the high correlation between livestock (cow and pig) density and the share of corresponding livestock farms in the total number of farms as well as the average herd size. Regarding other agricultural and socioeconomic factors, the correlation was weak or low except for a moderate correlation between the entrepreneurship indicator and pig density. The regression analysis demonstrated that the share of cow and pig farms in the total number of farms, average herd size, residential housing density, and unemployment rate had a significant impact on the density of animal groups considered.