Urban Agriculture and Food Environments: Exploring Impacts on Food Sovereignty and Ecological Wellbeing
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Policies and Education for Health Promotion".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 94
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
According to United Nations sources, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. The increasing growth of cities will result in the loss of arable land and, subsequently, a greater reliance on imported food and increasing vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. The energy-intensive aspects of food transportation and production in urban settings will further strain environmental sustainability and affect the nutrient integrity and diversity of available foods. Addressing these challenges directly impacting the six pillars of food security requires innovative solutions to enhance local agriculture while promoting ecological resilience across emerging food environments. In this context, ensuring that urban communities can achieve food sovereignty and fulfill their right to nutritious, culturally appropriate food is an urgent priority, particularly amid climate change, political instability, inequality, conflict, and rapidly shifting urban demographics.
This Special Issue aims to examine the linkages between nutrition policy, food sovereignty, and equitable food environments, with urban agriculture considered a contributing factor to public health nutrition. We welcome submissions of original research, review articles, policy analyses, feasibility studies, program evaluations, and sustainability assessments, including, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Impacts of school and community gardens on food access, dietary diversity, and nutritional status;
- Strategies to improve access to local farms and agricultural land for nutrition-sensitive food production;
- Policy supports and jurisdictional challenges in promoting nutrition-oriented and sustainable urban agricultural practices;
- Innovative programs linking urban food production to nutrition education, healthy, and culturally diverse diets;
- Evaluation of community-based initiatives on food security, nutrition, health, and wellbeing;
- Food sovereignty and nutrition for Indigenous peoples in urban settings;
- Food knowledge, nutrition, and food literacy in cities.
Dr. Hannah Neufeld
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 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
- food sovereignty
- food security
- food environments
- Indigenous food systems
- sustainability
- local food production
- migration
- climate change
- dietary diversity
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