Alice J. Hovorka and Diana Lee-Smith
In: Cities Farming for the Future - Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities
Urban agriculture has been embraced and promoted by the international development community as a means for urban dwellers to achieve sustainable livelihoods and socio-economic advancement. Many low-income households who farm in the cities gain a more consistent source of food and better nutrition. They can also earn or free up cash for non-food items. Advocacy for urban agriculture was initially focused on the policy agenda, but has moved recently into the realm of municipal development. Now that municipal authorities increasingly recognise this pivotal activity, it is easier for urban agriculture practitioners to integrate it into planning and decisionmaking mechanisms at the city level. This chapter seeks to make clear why this trajectory must be conceptualised along gender lines, since
gender dynamics are central to the form, function, organisation and structure of urban farming.
