Appraising Agroecological Urbanism: A Vision for the Future of Sustainable Cities

Abstract

By the mid-century, urban areas are expected to house two-thirds of the world’s population of approximately 10 billion people. The key challenge will be to provide food for all with fewer farmers in rural areas and limited options for expanding cultivated fields in urban areas, with sustainable soil management being a fundamental criterion for achieving sustainability goals. Understanding how nature works in a fast changing world and fostering nature-based agriculture (such as low-input farming) are crucial for sustaining food systems in the face of worsening urban heat island (UHI) effects and other climatic variables. The best fit for the context is transformative agroecology, which connects ecological networks, sustainable farming approaches, and social movements through change-oriented research and action. Even though agroecology has been practiced for over a century, its potential to address the socioeconomic impact of the food system remained largely unexplored until recently. Agroecological approaches, which involve effective interactions between researchers, policy makers, farmers, and consumers, can improve social cohesion and socioeconomic synergies while reducing the use of various agricultural inputs. This review presents a timeline of agroecology transformation from the past to the present and discusses the possibilities, prospects, and challenges of agroecological urbanism toward a resilient urban future.

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of farmers towards urban agroecology in Malaysia

“…Climate change, ecological degradation, increased resource demand, biodiversity loss, and urbanisation warrant radical transformation of the food system to strengthen the four pillars of food security: availability, access, utilisation, and stability. Transforming the global food system will require involvement from multiple stakeholders (such as policymakers, researchers, farmers, and consumers) and nature-based solutions at each step of the supply chain, from governance to food production, processing, distribution, and consumption [ 2 , 3 ]. Beyond agricultural practices, the structural social injustices and ecological exploitation at the heart of industrial food systems must be considered to develop truly sustainable food systems [ 4 ].…”

“…Growing urbanisation, coupled with extreme heat events due to climate change, will directly impact global agriculture and food systems. Additionally, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic highlights the fragility of large cities to unexpected global risks and crises, emphasising the need for research into robust and resilient food systems that can withstand climate change [ 2 ]. Urban agriculture, including urban farms, community gardens, and home gardens, is widely recognised for helping local communities economically and socially, increasing the connection between urban residents and their food, and offering educational opportunities and cost savings [ [11] , [12] , [13] ].…”

“…Researching and improving dominant food systems (such as rice- or cereal-based cropping systems) using agroecological approaches, in both urban and rural areas, are necessary to ensure the social, economic, and ecological future of humans and all species. Ideally, agriculture should involve agroecological practice that mimics natural environmental cycles [ 2 , 4 , 15 ]. However, more comprehensive research is needed to characterise the complex human-environmental interactions that broadly affect sustainability [ 16 ].…”

“…For example, resource demands and environmental change impact food production and livelihoods in agroecological zones that are characterised by labour-intensive and rain-fed agriculture, such as in Malaysia [ 24 , 25 ]. Addressing knowledge gaps for marginalized groups and creating a food system based on localism, participation, and equity will improve food security and food justice in the region [ 2 ]. Agroecology holds the potential to improve social networks in agricultural settings by encouraging urban farmers to adopt a holistic approach to reorienting their agricultural systems [ 17 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…With the average local temperature projected to increase by up to 1.6 °C by 2050, there is a critical need to inform local urban farmers on crop selection and agroecological practices in the face of climate volatility [ 32 , 33 ]. Generally, farmers’ lack of interest in agroecological practices as viable sustainable farming alternatives can be attributed to a variety of factors, including a lack of knowledge, training opportunities, and/or development initiatives [ 2 ]. Urban farmers need the necessary knowledge to improve agricultural production while contributing to food security.…”