Bridging Public Perceptions and Policy: A Mixed-Methods Study of Social Acceptance and Institutional Reform for Urban Agriculture in Arid Abu Dhabi

Urban agriculture (UA) is increasingly recognized as a strategic approach to enhance food security and urban resilience, particularly in arid regions like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This mixed-methods study investigates how public perceptions shape the acceptance and promotion of UA in the Abu Dhabi Emirate, addressing a critical gap in the social dimensions of UA implementation. The research employed a concurrent triangulation design, integrating a quantitative survey of 255 residents with qualitative insights from a focus group of 15 urban planning and sustainability experts. Quantitative data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to validate constructs of public perception and policy support, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The findings reveal a significant, positive correlation (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) between public awareness of UA’s benefits and support for policy integration. While residents expressed strong enthusiasm for UA, their willingness to participate was contingent upon tangible government incentives. Concurrently, experts highlighted critical technical and regulatory barriers, including water scarcity and outdated zoning codes, that must be addressed. The study concludes that advancing UA in Abu Dhabi requires a synergistic policy approach that aligns robust public support with targeted institutional mechanisms, such as subsidies for water-efficient technologies and the formal integration of UA into urban planning frameworks. This research contributes valuable empirical evidence for developing socially accepted and context-specific UA policies in arid urban environments. Given the cross-sectional design and non-probability sampling approach, the findings should be interpreted as exploratory and should not be generalized to the entire Abu Dhabi population.