Course description

Urban agriculture (UA) is being practiced by large numbers of people in both southern and northern cities.  Increasingly, governments and civil society organizations are promoting its development to enhance urban food security and health, alleviate poverty and strengthen urban livelihoods, support community building, contribute to urban environmental management and greening, and provide educational and recreational services. This course, developed by Marielle Dubbeling (ETC UA) and Joe Nasr (Ryerson University), will expand the understanding of the main concepts of urban agriculture, its main types and dimensions, its potential impacts, the constraints and opportunities facing it, the stakeholders involved in it, the historical contexts shaping it, and the local, regional and international development trends bearing on it. Based on this analysis, the course will provide some tools and approaches for how UA could be analysed and supported by various urban actors.

Course Objectives and/or Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the concept of urban agriculture from various perspectives
• Describe the basic systems, dimensions, stakeholders and institutions related to UA
• Identify and communicate the main benefits, problems, opportunities and constraints related to UA
• Place UA in a historical context, and relate it to current trends that may shape its future development
• Analyse urban agriculture using a range of tools and approaches, and consider various strategies for intervention so as to support its development
• Combine the above elements into a coherent and holistic vision of the possible future of urban agriculture in a given city