Food for Thought: Addressing Urban Food Security Risks through Urban Agriculture

Abstract

Food and nutrition security has been neglected in the planning field for reasons of a lack of connection between food and planning and the perception that agricultural activities have no place in the modernizing world. However, considering increasing climate change impacts and implications on industrialized agriculture, there is a clear need to establish shorter, more sustainable agricultural production practices and food supply chains. Urban agriculture is proposed as a potential method of intervention for planners to support sustainable food production and supply chains. The paper utilized a multiple-case study design to analyze four best practice examples of urban agriculture in the Global South to uncover its potential to address food security associated risks and contribute to sustainable development objectives. The results delivered evidence of the potential to harness the multifunctionality of urban agriculture to not only improve the food security of the most at-risk populations, but to also address other urban risks such as unemployment, community decline and food deserts. The recommendations for this paper relate to establishing a food security department, mapping and encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, creating land uses and zonings specific to urban agriculture and to utilize its multifunctionality to address other urban risks.

Closing the Gap Between Urban Planning and Urban Ecology: A South African Perspective

“…The literature provides several practical examples of ecological advancements. These include a focus on natural areas in urban open space planning through Systematic conservation planning (Compaan et al, 2017) and the use of metropolitan open space systems (Boon et al, 2016), urban biodiversity corridors (Burton et al, 2017), 500 buildings with Green Star South Africa ratings by the Green Building Council South Africa (Simpeh et al, 2021), examples of GI applications such as the green growth concept integrating energy and climate change issues (Bobbins & Culwick, 2015), the development of climate adaptation plans to develop climate resilient cities (Roberts et al, 2012), water-sensitive urban planning and design (Fisher-Jeffes et al, 2017), efforts to enhance water resilience (Sutherland et al, 2019), urban agricultural practices (Steenkamp et al, 2021), and specific examples of local-level planning actions targeting the needs of the poor in terms of urban greening (Sachikonye et al, 2016). Whilst such endeavours show potential, they are rather exceptional and localised, and significant scope exists for broader commitment and application of urban ecological approaches, as is indicative for the entire Global South (Cilliers et al, 2021).…”

An Exploratory Case-Study Approach to Understand Multifunctionality in Urban Green Infrastructure Planning in a South African Context

“…Provisioning ES were identified the least (total scale score of 29)-potentially indicating a more specialized category and the need to include extremely specific GI elements when these ES are required, for example urban agricultural uses or gardens. Several studies from the Global South suggest that these areas and the various ES they provide need to be specifically and pro-actively included in urban planning and management (Shackleton, 2021;Steenkamp et al, 2021), as they are generally not recognized as "official land use(s) in many city plans" in the Global South (Pauleit et al, 2021). Private gardens proved to be highly multi-functional.…”

“…These include informal or undeveloped spaces, often as the remnants of existing pristine natural areas (Planchuelo et al, 2020, p. 1) or fragmented patches of natural habitats; and community and domestic gardens (Cameron et al, 2012, p. 129;Cilliers et al, 2018), in recognition of their significant contributions to urban greenery and ES (Shackleton et al, 2018). GI also includes all areas used for urban agricultural practices such as the cultivation of plants for food and the production of livestock (Drescher et al, 2021, Steenkamp et al, 2021; as well as other gray-green elements that combine vegetation with engineered technical structures or gray infrastructure (Pauleit et al, 2011, p. 272) such as green roofs, green walls; rain gardens, bioswales, or constructed wetlands (Mell, 2013, p. 153;Hansen et al, 2017, p. 9). It must be noted that several of these typologies may overlap depending on the design and use of a space and that certain elements may provide fewer or more ES.…”

Fortalecimiento de asociaciones campesinas del municipio del Tambo mediante la transformación de cultivos tradicionales hacia frutos de alto valor agregado

“…Theodore William Schultz en 1967 plantea una posible estrategia para conseguir este objetivo de transformación productiva mediante economías agrarias, que permiten a las comunidades del sector rural una adecuada transformación de cultivos tradicionales hacia frutos de alto valor agregado, lícitos, visionarios y útiles, incrementando la productividad, haciéndolos más competitivos y proporcionándoles un posicionamiento en el mercado (Steenkamp et al, 2021).…”

“…Por lo anterior, la problemática principal que aborda el presente artículo es la poca innovación en procesos de direccionamiento estratégico con impacto en la cadena de valor del sector rural; para estudiar este fenómeno se analizan las dinámicas de iniciativas rurales como la cooperativa caucana SachaTambo, adscrita a SachaColombia (hoy SumaSach'a), siendo un Ecosistema Empresarial Agroindustrial Inclusivo en Red para agricultores interesados en la industria, convirtiéndose, además, en una comercializadora internacional. En consonancia, desde la teoría de la modernización de la agricultura planteada por Theodore William Schultz en 1967, es pertinente considerar que no solo la tierra y el capital de trabajo son suficientes para transformar cultivos con alto valor agregado, sino que se necesita de otros elementos de gestión que complementen y apalanquen los esfuerzos de direccionamiento estratégico que se vienen dando (Steenkamp et al, 2021).…”