Cultivating Resilience in the Informal City: A Systematic Review of Urban Agriculture's Multidimensional Outcomes in Slum Contexts

ABSTRACT Urban agriculture (UA) in slums represents a vital yet under‐researched strategy for enhancing food security and community resilience in marginalised urban areas. This systematic review of 104 studies reveals stark contrasts in theoretical approaches: Global North scholarship frames UA through lenses of racial capitalism and gentrification, while Global South perspectives emphasise rights‐based access and survival strategies. A critical gap persists in applying resilience theory and everyday urbanism frameworks that could better capture UA's adaptive capacities in informal settlements. Empirical research remains disproportionately focused on caloric access and social significance (70% of studies), neglecting integrated analyses of economic, environmental, and health impacts (< 30%). Such fragmentation perpetuates narrow policy approaches that overlook UA's systemic potential. Key structural barriers such as land tenure insecurity, spatial constraints, and policy contradictions are particularly acute in African contexts, where informal UA practices thrive despite institutional marginalisation. Three priority research gaps emerge: (1) limited empirical understanding of extra‐legal UA's productivity and governance; (2) insufficient assessment of sustainability trade‐offs; and (3) inadequate inclusion of non‐farming community perspectives in impact evaluations. Addressing these through interdisciplinary, place‐based research could transform UA from an ad hoc coping mechanism into a cornerstone of equitable urban governance under the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11). This paradigm shift requires recognising UA's multidimensional role in slum contexts—not merely as food security intervention, but as integral to urban resilience and community empowerment.