Stakeholder’s practices for the sustainability assessment of professional urban agriculture reveal numerous original criteria and indicators

Abstract

With the rapid growth of professional intra-urban agriculture (PIUA) projects in the Global North, sponsors, projects leaders, and experts developing these projects are seeking to evaluate their sustainability. As existing assessment tools are not adapted to PIUA projects, they establish their own assessment practices. Our study examines these practices to identify their original features, criteria, and indicators used. To this end, we analysed 19 case studies of different PIUA projects. We identified four dimensions underpinning sustainability assessment, namely, internal sustainability, external sustainability, the project leader’s credibility, and the innovative nature of the project. We also shed light on the wide diversity of the 67 assessment criteria identified, as well as the qualitative nature of 78% of indicators used. In addition, our study highlights that assessment practices evolve over time as the project progresses from ideation to implementation, according to the variety of assessment situations. Our study is the first to provide an in-depth exploration of PIUA stakeholders’ sustainability assessment practices and to shed light on their specific features. Our results afford a better understanding of the way the sustainability of PIUA projects is assessed and contribute to reflection on the design of a flexible assessment tool, considering the diverse criteria and practices used by stakeholders to assess the sustainability of PIUA.

Short Commercialization Circuits and Productive Development of Agroecological Farmers in the Rural Andean Area of Ecuador

“…The analysis is based on the Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles, or Farm Sustainability Indicators (IDEA) methodology, which is an evaluation framework to assess the agricultural sustainability of farms [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. The method is based on three scales of sustainability: the agroecological scale, the socio-territorial scale, and the economic scale (Table 1).…”

“…Each one includes quantitative and qualitative indicators, with the numerical indicators being out of 100. These scales express the level of sustainability of the area under study [49][50][51][53][54][55].…”

The Driving Role of Food and Cultivated Land Resource in Balancing the Complex Urban System of Socio-Economy and Environment: A Case Study of Shanghai City in China

“…Xia et al quantified the dynamics of green infrastructure in agriculture in Zhengzhou from the perspective of ecological security and food security [23]. Clerino et al examined the practices for the sustainability assessment of professional urban agriculture [24]. Gozdziewicz-Biechonska et al analyzed theoretical frameworks and practices for protecting agricultural land use [25].…”

Urbānās lauksaimniecības koncepts, potenciāls un attīstības perspektīvas Latvijā = The concept, potential and development perspectives of urban agriculture in Latvia

“…Komerciāliem mērķiem urbānie dārzi tiek izvietoti iespējami tuvāk realizācijas vietai -tirgiem, veikaliem, restorāniem, skolām. Pētījumos urbānās lauksaimniecības komercdarbības prakse tiek definēta arī kā profesionālā urbānā lauksaimniecība, ja tās produkti vai pakalpojumi tiek piedāvāti tirgū komerciāliem mērķiem (Clerino et al, 2023). Tomēr, neskatoties uz strauji pieaugošo pētījumu skaitu, komercdarbības prakse ir pētīta salīdzinoši maz (Campbell et.…”

“…Urbānā lauksaimniecība spēj pildīt atbalsta funkcijas vairākos ilgtspējīgas attīstības un urbanizācijas izaicinājumos, tādēļ tās attīstība ir vēlama un veicināma gan pilsētplānošanas, gan individuālu un kopienas iniciatīvu formā. Tieši pilsētu ilgtspējas veicināšana ir viens no galvenajiem faktoriem straujajai urbānās lauksaimniecības prakses attīstībai Globālajos Ziemeļos 21.gadsimtā (Clerino et al, 2023). Urbānās lauksaimniecības attīstību Latvijā visvairāk ietekmē ekonomiskie un sociālie faktori; politiskajiem un vides faktoriem ir lielākoties veicinoša ietekme.…”