The Coming Of Age Of Urban Agriculture

For a long time, urban agriculture initiatives have been explored and novel policy and planning practices have been investigated. With the global food crisis the role urban agriculture has to play becomes more and more urgent. The potentials are large: it brings social justice, it limits climate change, it provides a healthy urban condition, it stimulates biodiversity and gives disadvantaged people an economic opportunity. After 15 years in the making, the time is ripe to see whether the growing of food has established a prominent position in urban planning and policies, food productivity, safety and security, social well-being, the arts, and human health. In this volume several aspects of growing food in the city are explored. Urban Agriculture plays a significant role in society. Nevertheless, it did not become a mainstream topic in day-to-day practice. This book provides concrete solutions and clues how to give urban food production a crucial role in the future planning of urban environments.

Carrot City is a collection of ideas, both conceptual and realized, that use design to enable sustainable food production, helping to reintroduce urban agriculture to our cities. Focusing on the need and desire to grow food within the city to supply food from local sources, the contributions of architecture, landscape design, and urban design are explored. Forty projects demonstrate how the production of food can lead to visually striking and artistically interesting solutions that create community and provide inhabitants with immediate access to fresh, healthful ingredients. The authors show how city planning and architecture that considers food production as a fundamental requirement of design result in more community gardens, greenhouses tucked under raised highways, edible landscapes in front yards in place of resource-devouring lawns, living walls that bring greenery into dense city blocks, and productive green roofs on schools and large apartment blocks that can be tended and harvested by students and residents alike.

People organising to protect their environment is not a new phenomenon, but the groups that have been pushing for environmental change since the 1970s have not convinced sufficient numbers make sustainable decisions or to lead sustainable lives. Governments have serially failed to do the job at the international level. Now, climate change, resource depletion and widening social aspirations threaten to destabilise human society unless sustainable change can be influenced from another direction. The Coming of Age of the Green Community explores the activities of a new generation of community-led initiatives that may herald the beginnings of the next wave of activism. Erik Bichard combines the testimonies of dozens of group activists with historic evidence and the views of a range of commentators from a variety of disciplines to put forward reasons why some green community groups succeed while others fail. He concludes with a valuable prescription for both existing and emerging groups on how to be sustainable, both over time and in their actions. This book address one of the key questions of the twenty-first century: has the local perspective on this universal concern finally come of age?

This edited book opens up new vistas for sustainable intensification in agriculture to provide food to ever growing population as well as adapting to the risks of global environmental change. Diverting from conventional agriculture, the book explores new dimensions and concepts that have been identified for future research and development in sustaining agriculture in Asia and Africa regions. The chapters are written by leading researchers and practitioners in the field of agroforestry. The book demonstrates how agroforestry could be instrumental in bringing stability and sustainability in agricultural production. It offers sustainable solutions for the impending problems of climate change, ecosystem degradation, declining agricultural productivity, and uncertain food security. It is an essential resource for students in agroforestry courses, as well as a valuable introduction to the field for professionals in related areas.

“A useful manual for anyone interested in turning the concrete jungle green . . . a must-have for any urban dweller serious about farming.” —Publishers Weekly In Farm the City, Michael Ableman, the “Spartacus of Sustainable Food Activism,” offers a guide to setting up and running a successful urban farm, derived from the success of Sole Food Street Farms, one of the largest urban agriculture enterprises in North America. Sole Food Street Farms spans four acres of land in Vancouver, produces twenty-five tons of food annually, provides meaningful work for dozens of disadvantaged people, and has improved the surrounding community in countless ways. Coverage includes: Selecting land and choosing the right crops Growing food in city farms, including plans for planting and harvesting Fundraising and marketing strategies, philosophies, and vital information for selling fresh products Navigating local government and regulations Engaging the community and building meaningful livelihoods Farm the City is an invaluable tool kit for entrepreneurs and activists looking to create economic and social value through urban agriculture. Urban farming has the power to change diets, economies, and lives. Yet starting an urban farm can seem daunting with skills and knowledge that extend beyond growing to include marketing, sales, employees, community relations, and navigating local regulations. With this comprehensive guide, you’ll be running a successful urban farm in no time. “A story of how to bring cities back to life, literally and emotionally . . . Local food not only addresses quality of life, economy, and food security, it changes our hearts . . . [a] wonderfully written testament to life.” —Paul Hawken, New York Times bestselling author of Drawdown

Eating locally and developing an urban-rural food continuum is a rapidly evolving movement. Integration of multi-functional forms of agriculture — termed New Forms of Urban Agriculture (NFUA) — could be a critical adaptation to strengthen this movement and for the sustainability of cities. While NFUA have the potential to provide diverse benefits to humans, there is an absence of reliable empirical data on the scale and impact of urban resources on NFUA which has a profound impact on its viability and sustainability. In this book, we shift the focus from how NFUA have potential to impact the urban system to investigate the potential impacts of urban resources on NFUA. Access to resources such as land, labour, clean water, etc. are major barriers to enter the agriculture sector in the cities; the chapters in this book present projects or reviews recent research on the subject from different cities in the world. This edited volume offers critical perspectives from diverse disciplines, expertise, and geographic contexts related to the actual and potential role of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the developing and the developed world where forms, adaptations, and debates around NFUA vary distinctively. Using and urban ecology lens, the book provides empirical evidence of how urban resources of land, water/waste, labour, and biodiversity impact NFUA.