Editorial

Marielle Dubbeling, Marcia Caton Campbell, Femke Hoekstra, René van Veenhuizen

In: UA Magazine no. 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 3-11

Urban growth is projected to increase significantly in the coming decades. The world’s urban population
is expected to double from 3.3 billion in 2007 to 6.4 billion by 2050, and it is predicted that by 2030, 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. Accompanying this urbanisation process is a phenomenon referred to as the “urbanisation of poverty”. Ravallion (2007) estimates that about one-quarter of the developing world’s poor live in urban areas, and this percentage is expected to increase to 50 per cent by 2035.

Urban Agriculture in Montevideo and Rosario: A response to crisis or a stable component of the urban landscape?

Alain Santandreu, Alberto Gómez Perazzoli, Raúl Terrile, Mariana Ponce

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 12-13

Urban agriculture has developed into a permanent activity in Rosario, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay (as demonstrated in earlier articles in the UA-Magazine). Urban agriculture is important in feeding cities in times of crisis, but it is currently being promoted by civil society and local government as a way to enhance social inclusion and employment of (especially poor) urban farmers, and thus to transform a challenging situation into new opportunities.

Interview with Crispim Moreira

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities p. 14

The Brazilian Ministry of “Social Development and the Combat against Hunger” (MDS) has been implementing national urban and periurban agriculture activities, as part of the national Zero Hunger Campaign. Dr. Crispim Moreira, the National Secretary of Food Security and Nutrition, tells us about the origin of this effort and the progress being made.

Promoting Access to Food in Contagem, Brazil

José António Ribeiro, Marilda Quintino Magahães

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 15-16

The municipality of Contagem in the State of Minas Gerais, despite being known as an industrial centre, has an enormous potential to develop urban agriculture. The current administration recognises this, and supports the development of agriculture as an important strategy for consolidating its Municipal Food and Nutritional Security Policy.

An Update from New Orleans

Martin Bailkey

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 17-19

Of all American cities, present-day New Orleans best exemplifies the concept of resilience in its ongoing struggle to recover its position as the urban centre of the central Gulf Coast region, and as a city of national significance in tourism, shipping and biomedicine. Two trips to the city in autumn 2008, more than three years after 80 per cent of the city was under water and the entire population had to flee for weeks or months, convinced the author (a New Orleans native) that much that was once considered “normal” has returned.

Resilient Chinese Cities: Examples from Beijing and Shanghai

Wang Yan, Cai Jianming, Xie Liou, Liu Junping

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 20-21

Resilience is a dynamic process. City resilience refers to the ability of a city to adapt or adjust to changing situations or recover from economic, social or ecological disturbances. The current high rate of urbanisation in China creates many such disturbances. Urban agriculture plays a role in enhancing the resilience of China’s growing cities.

Adapting to Climate Change and Building Urban Resilience in Australia

Kirsten Larsen, Fiona Barker-Reid

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 22-24

Increasing urban production of perishable foods can increase diversity in the food system, adding new products, producers, techniques and systems that will resist different threats and meet different needs. As Australia continues to struggle with water scarcity and increasing climate extremes, food production in and around its cities can contribute to healthy and resilient communities. 

Building the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Quito: Adapting local food systems to climate change

Isabelle Anguelovski

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 25-26

Marginalized urban communities living in informal settlements or on fragile hillsides and slopes in Quito, Ecuador, are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as they are highly exposed to frequent floods and landslides, droughts, food scarcity and uncertain food supply chains. This is particularly true as many of these communities depend on urban agriculture to secure sustainable livelihoods and achieve food security.

Sustainable Development of Megacities of Tomorrow: Green infrastructures for Casablanca, Morocco

Silvia Martin Han, Meggi Pieschel

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 27-29

The programme “Sustainable Development of Future Megacities” (2008-2013), of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), focuses on energy- and climate-efficient structures in urban growth centres. One of the research projects investigates to what extent urban agriculture can make a relevant contribution to building a resilient city, and does this in Casablanca, Morocco.

Coping with Increasing Food Prices in Nakuru, Kenya: Urban school farming as a way to make school lunches affordable

Dick Foeken, Samuel O. Owuor, Alice M. Mwangi

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 30-31

School feeding is common in Africa and widely recognised as beneficial for both the physical and mental development of the children. However, mainly due to the sharp increase of food prices, many parents are no longer able to pay for their children’s lunches. This is where school farming comes in as a means to lower the cost of producing meals and thus make the schools more resilient against market forces.

The Role of Urban Agriculture in the Re-socialisation of Homeless People: An Experience in Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Camille Lanzarotti Nolasco, Raquel Ferreira Simiqueli, Vicente Paulo dos Santos Pinto

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 32-33

Very few projects in Brazil include activities focused on re-socialising homeless citizens so that they can re-enter society, through job training for example. However, in the city of Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a project run by the municipality is showing good results in helping people living on the streets return to society as productive individuals, by means of urban agriculture. 

The Role of Urban Agriculture in Building Resilient Cities: Examples of building resilient neighbourhoods in London

Elisa Peduto, Dilyara Satdinova

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 34-36

The concept of resilient cities is increasingly heard today. Whereas in southern countries access to food is a major motivation for people to engage in urban agriculture, in northern cities, such as London, people are driven more by environmental reasons such as the damaging effects of excessive food miles. Regardless of the motivation, urban agriculture is a positive step toward greater resilience.

The Elephant and the Castle ; towards a London Edible Landscape

Mikey Tomkins

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 37-38

The concept of resilient cities is increasingly heard today. Whereas in southern countries access to food is a major motivation for people to engage in urban agriculture, in northern cities, such as London, people are driven more by environmental reasons such as the damaging effects of excessive food miles. Regardless of the motivation, urban agriculture is a positive step toward greater resilience.

Local Food System Develops Resiliency in Charlottesville

Tim Beatley, Andrea Larson, Gordon Walker, Erika Herz

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 39-40

Institutions across the City of Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County, including the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA), the University of Virginia (UVa), public schools, hospitals and restaurants are working to source a higher proportion of their food needs locally.

Please click here for a study with more background information.

Beyond Food Security: Urban agriculture as a form of resilience in Vancouver, Canada

Kent Mullinix, Arthur Fallick, Deborah Henderson

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 41-42

The more people become sequestered in cities and insulated from ecological engagement, the greater the danger is that they will lose sight of the mounting economic, social and ecological burden that we are imposing on the earth’s resources and systems.

Carrot City: Designing for urban agriculture

Diana Lee-Smith

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 43-44

Resilient cities and buildings that work with nature instead of against it have to be designed by professionals who have been trained in and are focused on sustainability. The landmark Carrot City show at Toronto’s Design Exchange brought designers, planners, architects and the general public up-todate on developments in designing for urban agriculture.

Agricultural Biodiversity Strengthening Livelihoods in Periurban Hyderabad, India

Johanna Jacobi, Axel W. Drescher, Priyanie H. Amerasinghe, Philipp Weckenbrock

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 45-47

In periurban Hyderabad, India, leafy vegetables are increasingly grown along the Musi River and sold in urban markets. This agricultural biodiversity can significantly help urban and periurban farmers become more resilient to the impacts of such changes.

Optimising Use of Water for Urban Agriculture: Responding to the challenge of growing water scarcity in Tunisia

Boubaker Houman, Bouraoui Moez

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities p. 48

The growing scarcity of water in many regions around the world is a major challenge for the future. Irrigated agriculture is the main user of water in many countries, including in Tunisia, where the productive use of recycled urban wastewater and the use of rainwater, along with more efficient water use in agriculture, contribute to more sustainable production of food for its growing cities.

Urban Agriculture and Resilience in Lisbon: The role of the municipal government

Jorge Castro Henriques

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22 - Building Resilient Cities pp. 49-50

In recent years, urban agriculture in Lisbon has become more widespread and has received unprecedented media coverage. News articles have appeared on the expansion of agriculture within the city and its suburban areas and on the urban poor who grow vegetables in response to the current crisis. In this way, society has been contributing to the city’s resilience.

Books

Further readings

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22: Building Resilient Cities

Weblinks

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22: Building Resilient Cities

Events

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22: Building Resilient Cities

Colofon

In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no 22: Building Resilient Cities

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