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Land
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Why Urban Agriculture Matters
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Why Urban Agriculture Matters

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 34092

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ben Sonneveld

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Amsterdam Centre for World Food Studies/Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: environmental impact assessment; sustainable development; environment; land-use management; environmental modeling
Dr. Augustin Aoudji

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou BP 171, Godomey, Benin
Interests: value chain development; economics of agricultural production; urban agriculture
Dr. Amani Alfarra

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy
Interests: environmental impact assessment; sustainable development; environment; climate change and nature-based solutions; water resource management in an integrated approach (landscape- seascape: source to sea), and water- energy -food nexus systems and analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Propelled by a rapid urbanization, city administrations in middle and low income countries face many challenges to provide basic utilities and secure food and nutrition diversity in ever growing metropoles. Challenges include the provision of basic utilities that promote sustainable economic growth with remunerative employment and the creation of safety nets for those who are unemployed or whose income is too low to buy good food. Indeed, commodities that are regular staples in rural areas, such as fruits, vegetables and dairy products, can become unaffordable luxuries to poorer urban inhabitants. In higher income countries too, there are concerns about the food systems in an urbanized world. Here, the focus is less on economic growth and safety nets, but rather on the increasingly louder calls for food sovereignty in sync with a withdrawal from food industry and a sometimes spiritually motivated return to the basics of fresh and healthy food production with short supply chains and transparent farm-to-fork linkages. Urban Agricultures (UA) seems to be a spontaneous and appropriate response to these typical urban developments. UA represents a myriad of production techniques that vary from fully commercialized multistore food factories and green houses with hydroponic systems to private home gardens and placements of single baskets in the back yard or at the balcony. In between, experimental Zfarming and small scale specialized farm initiatives and cooperatively organized allotment gardens are appearing more and more, especially in the outer belts of cities. UA does not only supply fresh and healthy foods to households, markets, restaurants and grocery stores but also saves on transport mileages, empowers the poor by broadening their food safety networks and generating some income, encourages social cohesion and contributes to a pleasant environment by transforming grey cities to green. Yet, despite the multitude of advantages and well-intended initiatives, UA does not develop at the expected speed. It is difficult to find suitable places with access to land and water where the competition with built-up initiatives can be settled. Moreover, some cities have prohibitive policies and ordinances that stymies UA initiatives. Tackling the issue of how UA can play its positive role in the era of rapid urbanization requires a deeper understanding of the main opportunities and constraints for UA developments. The journal Land invites you to contribute to a Special Issue to present the newest methodologies and case studies that should support the development of UA to its full potential.

Dr. Ben Sonneveld
Guest Editor

Dr. Augustin Aoudji
Dr. Amani Alfarra
Co-Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban agriculture
  • hydroponics
  • allotment gardens
  • home gardens
  • roof top gardening

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 22702 KiB  
Article
Site History’s Role in Urban Agriculture: A Case Study in Kisumu, Kenya, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
by Nicolette Tamara Jonkman, Karsten Kalbitz, Huig Bergsma and Boris Jansen
Land 2023, 12(11), 2056; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112056 - 12 Nov 2023
Viewed by 966
Abstract
Urban agriculture (UA) is a widespread practice often considered low-profit, taking place on marginal lands. This is supported by the lack of quantitative data on UA’s contributions to food security and employment, yet contradicted by prevalence and high participation rates. This case study [...] Read more.
Urban agriculture (UA) is a widespread practice often considered low-profit, taking place on marginal lands. This is supported by the lack of quantitative data on UA’s contributions to food security and employment, yet contradicted by prevalence and high participation rates. This case study of six UA sites in Kisumu, Kenya and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso explores the relationship between prior land use and current management and soil quality. A soil survey is performed determining the soil macronutrient and soil mineral composition. Agricultural management, ownership, and prior land use are investigated through interviews, satellite imagery, and historic publications. Results show three UA sites predating surrounding urban development, and data on soil nutrient content show that sites likely were chosen for their soil. The three younger sites are smaller and less embedded in the local economy, but soil analysis shows medium-rich to rich agricultural soils. We conclude that one cannot assume that UA is practiced on marginalized soils. Consequently, both value attribution to and the sustainable agricultural management of UA soils must be based on their characteristics, such as mineralogy and nutrient status, to prevent valuable soil resources from being lost. Through this, the more accurate value attribution of UA can be achieved, lending weight to the value attributed to UA by local communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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22 pages, 31768 KiB  
Article
Spaces, Systems and Infrastructures: From Founding Visions to Emerging Approaches for the Productive Urban Landscape
by Joe Nasr and Matthew Potteiger
Land 2023, 12(2), 410; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020410 - 03 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1726
Abstract
The proliferation of urban agriculture on an array of urban spaces is one of the more visible responses to perceived failures of contemporary food systems. This paper seeks to identify fundamental strategies connected to food system change efforts, linking these with diverse attempts [...] Read more.
The proliferation of urban agriculture on an array of urban spaces is one of the more visible responses to perceived failures of contemporary food systems. This paper seeks to identify fundamental strategies connected to food system change efforts, linking these with diverse attempts at designing and planning the productive city. It first situates the contemporary concept of the productive city within a broader historical dialogue of foundational figures in urban and regional planning, architecture, and landscape architecture for whom food production was a central component of future cities. Recently, a growing number of practitioners have theorized the need for integrating urban agriculture in urban design and planning. Across this spectrum of emerging theory and practice, we identify three approaches to designing productive cities. First, spatial design strategies identify new territories for food production. These offer the potential for systems design thinking that links the individual spaces of production to other sectors of food systems that extend across networks of spaces and multiple scales. Finally, both spatial and systems design involve strategies of designing productive infrastructures of soils, water, nutrients, and other essential flows. The engagement with spaces of production, food systems, and productive infrastructure opens up a range of challenges as well as opportunities for emerging forms of practice and design thinking for the productive city. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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20 pages, 665 KiB  
Article
Growing Community: Factors of Inclusion for Refugee and Immigrant Urban Gardeners
by Lissy Goralnik, Lucero Radonic, Vanessa Garcia Polanco and Angel Hammon
Land 2023, 12(1), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010068 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2422
Abstract
Urban agriculture is an important neighborhood revitalization strategy in the U.S. Rust Belt, where deindustrialization has left blighted and vacant land in the urban core. Immigrants and refugees represent a growing and important stakeholder group in urban agriculture, including in community gardens across [...] Read more.
Urban agriculture is an important neighborhood revitalization strategy in the U.S. Rust Belt, where deindustrialization has left blighted and vacant land in the urban core. Immigrants and refugees represent a growing and important stakeholder group in urban agriculture, including in community gardens across the Rust Belt Midwest. Community gardens provide a host of social and economic benefits to urban landscapes, including increased access to culturally appropriate food and medicinal plants for refugee and immigrant growers. Our work in Lansing, Michigan was part of a collaboration with the Greater Lansing Food Bank’s Garden Project (GLFGP) to describe the refugee and immigrant community gardening experience in three urban gardens with high refugee and immigrant enrollment. Our research describes the ways garden management facilitates inclusion for refugee and immigrant gardeners and how particular factors of inclusion in turn contribute to social capital, an important outcome that plays a critical role in refugee and immigrant subjective wellbeing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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30 pages, 11302 KiB  
Article
The Role of Urban Agriculture Technologies in Transformation toward Participatory Local Urban Planning in Rafsanjan
by Mohsen Farhangi, Sara Farhangi, Paulien C. H. van de Vlasakker and Gerrit J. Carsjens
Land 2021, 10(8), 830; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080830 - 08 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2946
Abstract
The agricultural sector in developing countries is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change and water scarcity. Iran is one Middle Eastern country facing a growing water crisis. Rafsanjan county, located in the province of Kerman, is losing its pistachio orchards [...] Read more.
The agricultural sector in developing countries is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change and water scarcity. Iran is one Middle Eastern country facing a growing water crisis. Rafsanjan county, located in the province of Kerman, is losing its pistachio orchards to water shortages and climate change. The modernisation of irrigation methods and transfer of water from other regions have been the main strategies taken by the governmental authorities. The lack of success of these strategies has led to the emergence of more participatory approaches in the transformation of the agricultural sector and local urban planning in Rafsanjan. This study analyses the actor network of transformation in the agricultural sector and the rise of high-tech urban agriculture, and aims to understand the role of technologies in supporting citizen participation in local urban planning. The research draws on the concept of Technology-Driven Transitions (TDT). The interactions among social and materials entities and the impact of technological novelties on the re-configuration of their relationships in the transition process were studied. The research comprised an exploratory case study, and data were gathered through observations, document study and in-depth interviews with farmers, planners, researchers, and policy makers in Rafsanjan. The results of the study show that governmental planning organizations and their implementation bodies, such as the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) and the 10-year plan for the development of greenhouses, were the most influential actants in the transition process. Their relationships with the other actants involved, such as the private sector, knowledge institutes and farmers, were re-configured by technological novelties. This re-configuration of relationships has led to strengthened participatory decision making in local urban planning in Rafsanjan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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Review

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12 pages, 493 KiB  
Review
Potential Economic, Social and Environmental Contribution Study of Urban Agriculture Based on Five Key Features Identified through Past Studies
by Arun Kafle, James Hopeward and Baden Myers
Land 2023, 12(10), 1920; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101920 - 14 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1492
Abstract
Urban agriculture (UA), for recreational (gardening) and or commercial (farming) purposes, is commonly practised around the world, and uptake is increasing globally. There are many claims regarding UA’s social, economic and environmental benefits with scant exploratory research. The overarching objective of this paper [...] Read more.
Urban agriculture (UA), for recreational (gardening) and or commercial (farming) purposes, is commonly practised around the world, and uptake is increasing globally. There are many claims regarding UA’s social, economic and environmental benefits with scant exploratory research. The overarching objective of this paper is to access the potential economic, social and environmental contribution of UA based on five major features that have previously been shown to be critical to optimising the benefits of UA: area, purpose (gardening or commercial), crop value (mixed, mid to high), mechanisation level (none to partial mechanisation) and market mechanism (retail versus wholesale) based on past studies focusing on Adelaide, Australia and the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Including the reviewed 15 past studies that closely reflect the above five features of UA, most UA research has focused on the social benefits and potential cost savings of growing food in cities, with few studies interrogating its economic viability, employment potential or opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a clear need to study UA using a systems approach to ensure viability, replicability and sustainability. Real-world case studies focusing on diverse settings will help to characterise key features and corrective actions for improving overall sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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26 pages, 4673 KiB  
Review
The Role of Allotments and Community Gardens and the Challenges Facing Their Development in Urban Environments—A Literature Review
by Anita Kwartnik-Pruc and Gabriela Droj
Land 2023, 12(2), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020325 - 25 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4550
Abstract
Current research largely focuses on the role of allotment gardens, the challenges facing them, and the direction of their future development in urban environments. The main idea behind the introduction of allotment gardens was to improve the living conditions and food supply of [...] Read more.
Current research largely focuses on the role of allotment gardens, the challenges facing them, and the direction of their future development in urban environments. The main idea behind the introduction of allotment gardens was to improve the living conditions and food supply of workers and the underprivileged. The impact of allotment gardening does not only concern the allotment gardeners but also the general public and the environment. It is important to emphasise that allotments have impacts not only on food production and outdoor physical activity, but also on the reuse of idle or neglected land, community development, therapeutic and nutritional benefits, and psychological benefits for allotment holders and residents. For this reason, this study captures six broad themes related to allotments: (1) community participation and cohesion, (2) health and well-being, (3) economic opportunities, (4) pollution, (5) urban planning and development, and (6) sustainable environment. The research is a systematic review in which steps were taken to minimise bias in the identification, selection, and summarisation of studies. The initial literature selection was based on a keyword search (title, abstract, and keywords) of the comprehensive literature databases Web of Science (all years) and Scopus (all years). The total scientific literature on which this review is based includes 162 research articles published between 1978 and July 2022. This work aims to fill these gaps and analyse existing knowledge by providing a detailed review of the academic literature, focusing not only on the benefits of community gardens and allotments in urban areas, but also on the existing problems related to allotments and urban gardening. Possible directions of development are also analysed based on the legal regulations in each country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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21 pages, 2861 KiB  
Review
The Socio-Cultural Benefits of Urban Agriculture: A Review of the Literature
by Rositsa T. Ilieva, Nevin Cohen, Maggie Israel, Kathrin Specht, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Agnès Fargue-Lelièvre, Lidia Poniży, Victoria Schoen, Silvio Caputo, Caitlin K. Kirby, Benjamin Goldstein, Joshua P. Newell and Chris Blythe
Land 2022, 11(5), 622; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050622 - 23 Apr 2022
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 13100
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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Other

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27 pages, 8767 KiB  
Case Report
How Does Urban Farming Benefit Participants? Two Case Studies of the Garden City Initiative in Taipei
by Yan Zhou, Chunjui Wei and Yong Zhou
Land 2023, 12(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010055 - 25 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3948
Abstract
In discussions on urban food security and healthy aging, urban agriculture is described in the context of changing approaches to sustainable urban development under crises. Space planning-related urban agriculture practices, such as edible landscaping combing design and small-scale crop production, are the primary [...] Read more.
In discussions on urban food security and healthy aging, urban agriculture is described in the context of changing approaches to sustainable urban development under crises. Space planning-related urban agriculture practices, such as edible landscaping combing design and small-scale crop production, are the primary active strategies and environmental policy tools. This paper addresses urban food security and health aging by practicing campus agriculture and community gardens around National Taiwan University. In particular, this study adopts participatory action research, participatory observation, and semi-structured, in-depth interviews as the research method. We examined the challenges and benefits of implementing urban agriculture in Taipei. Further, we proposed that urban agricultural space building and planning based on a social support network of urban agriculture can effectively address food supply and healthy aging for an aging urban society to some extent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Why Urban Agriculture Matters)
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