Effect of urban agriculture on the quality of urban life: A review

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to conduct an extensive literature review concerning the correlation between Urban agriculture and the quality of life of individuals residing in urban areas. Employing established systematic review protocols, the study gathered data from a wide array of renowned databases, such as Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The criteria for inclusion were determined based on the applicability to the themes of urban agriculture and quality of life, publication within the time frame of 2010 to 2022, and availability in the English language. The synthesis included a comprehensive examination of 20 scholarly papers that were peer-reviewed. The economic impacts suggest that urban agriculture has the capacity to produce earnings, decrease household food costs, and promote local economies. Urban agriculture actively encouraged community engagement, tackled social concerns, and nurtured interpersonal connections. In terms of health, urban agriculture played a role in ensuring food security and improving physical well-being. Urban agriculture’s environmental impacts include its beneficial influence on urban ecosystems, its reduction of carbon emissions as well as its efforts to combat air and noise pollution. Urban agriculture functioned as a cultural medium, facilitating the connection between persons and their ancestry, fostering agricultural expertise, and serving as a cultural hub. Negative externalities include resource exploitation, contamination as well as ecosystem disruption. This study offers an in-depth understanding of the many effects of urban agriculture on the quality of life of urban people. The analysis adds to the existing pool of information, providing insights into the potential of urban agriculture to improve several aspects of humans’ well-being in urban environments.