Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs

How Rooftop Gardening Strengthens Food Security and Urban Resilience in Post-Pandemic Dhaka

Shahriar Iqbal Raj (Department of Architecture, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Tasneem Tarannum Shafi (Department of Architecture, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Md Rifat Mahmud (Department of Architecture, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh)



Article Info

Publish Date
26 Jun 2026

Abstract

Dense South Asian cities experienced severe food insecurity, income loss, and psychological strain during COVID-19, yet household-level evidence on rooftop gardening as crisis adaptation remains limited. This study investigates how the pandemic shaped rooftop gardening adoption and socio-economic resilience in Mohammadpur, Dhaka. A quantitative cross-sectional survey of 150 households compared 90 gardening adopters with 60 non-adopters, using descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and exploratory logistic regression. Findings show that 59.33% of households experienced pandemic-related income loss, while adopters reported higher peak stress than non-adopters but significantly lower current stress. Female respondents were 3.6 times more likely to adopt gardening, and households with full rooftop access were approximately 25 times more likely to garden than those without access. Food worry, gender, peak stress, and rooftop access emerged as key predictors, while 83.33% of respondents remained unaware of government or non-government urban agriculture initiatives. The findings demonstrate that rooftop gardening can reduce household food concerns, support mental wellbeing, strengthen women’s food-related agency, and improve resource efficiency in dense neighbourhoods. By linking community microagriculture with urban economic resilience, the study offers practical guidance for inclusive planning, urban food governance, and sustainable urban management.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijcua

Publisher

Subject

Description

The International Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs (IJCUA) is the interdisciplinary academic, refereed journal which publishes two times a year by Anglo-American Publications LLC. IJCUA brings together all the theories, manifestoes and methodologies on contemporary urban spaces to raise the ...