The ‘Covid-Trigger’: New Light on Urban Agriculture and Systemic Approach to Urbanism to Co-Create a Sustainable Lisbon

Abstract

In 2018, Lisbon won the title of Green capital of Europe 2020. It was described by the Expert Panel as an inspirational city which had started its journey towards sustainability during a period of economic crisis. A year later, Covid-19 had become a global pandemic. Imposed confinements highlighted the extent to which globalisation has spread the virus, as well as the particular fragility of places like cities where people, living together, were asked to not physically interact anymore. Exploring further that very particular global crisis can help to identify the faults in our economic systems and to ask why Lisbon was neither resilient nor sustainable in the face of that adversity. In addition to highlighting how weak our health is, Covid-19 has exacerbated vulnerabilities in Lisbon such as job losses (especially in the touristic sector), food supply (Portugal imports 70% of its food) and food waste. This paper explores how the activity which, ‘ par excellence’ , meets the most basic of our needs (food), through the example of Urban Agriculture (UA), could contribute to discussions on what makes a city sustainable. A literature review on UA in Lisbon highlights its various benefits, complemented by a broader literature review which converges to showing how UA can help to address the vulnerabilities generated or exacerbated by Covid. Having shown its potential contribution to addressing crises, this article then suggests to examine how systems approaches could help to incorporate UA further in a new type of more participatory urbanism aimed at creating sustainable cities.

Global Landscape of Urban Agriculture and Covid-19 Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Although urban agriculture practices and research received more attention during Covid-19, this shift also has presented obstacles to urban agriculture (Cerda et al, 2022), emphasising the need for further studies in the future. The focus on food security identified by our analysis reveals the need for urban planning to integrate food or urban agriculture as part of its agenda (Basu et al, 2021;Simon, 2023). This agenda might consider supporting the use of underutilised spaces in urban areas for food production (Glaros et al, 2022) or creating zones for urban agriculture (Ghezeljeh et al, 2022) to mitigate spatial problems or barriers such as the lack of or inadequate space for gardening (Cerda et al, 2022).…”

“…Urban agriculture is a practice related to urban planning (Dobele & Zvirbule, 2020;Simon, 2023;Yan et al, 2022) that gained increased attention during Covid-19. Bibliometric analysis showed a significant increase in research on urban agriculture in relation to Covid-19 from 2020 to 2022.…”

Roles of Urban Agriculture towards Contributing Sustainable Cities: A scoping review

“…In urban settings, robust urban governance and community engagement are acknowledged as vital components that unite diverse elements within a system, ensuring cohesive functionality (Simon, 2023). Effective governance proves advantageous, providing opportunities for individuals involved in UA at home and in the community, as demonstrated by the urban farming market.…”

A Comprehensive Review on Evolution, Challenges of Models, Opportunities in Urban Farming Practices in the World

“…These products are widely available in many parts of Africa. Gardens on Antiqua and Barbuda are home to both indigenous vegetable varieties and those that are brought in from other countries [75].…”