Introduction

Last week we discussed our own, as well as more common, definitions on urban agriculture. We also looked at the differences and complementarities between rural, intra- and peri-urban agriculture and tried to identify what makes urban agriculture “urban”. This module we will propose a series of important variables to further distinguish and characterize different forms of urban agriculture, as to make its definition more “operational”. We will then place urban agriculture in the context of various global debates related to food security and sustainable urban development, underlining some of the reasons for the increasing attention to urban agriculture worldwide. At the end of the module, you will be invited to develop and post a case study on one urban agriculture system found in your own city, characterising this urban agriculture system by using the building blocks described below.

Learning Objectives

After completing this module, you will be able to:

• Further discuss the concept of urban agriculture, using a variety of building blocks
• Discuss urban agriculture in the context of global debates on the Millennium Development Goals, the ecological footprint, the slow food movement, community food security and sustainable cities.