As urban populations rise rapidly and concerns about food security increase, interest in urban agriculture has been renewed in both developed and developing countries. This book focuses on the sustainable development of urban agriculture and its relationship to food planning in cities.

Researchers in California conducted a life cycle assessment to model the climate change mitigation potential of consuming produce grown in household vegetable gardens as opposed to those from stores.

This report provides a developing country perspective on rural-urban linkages in food systems. It examines the role of rural-urban linkages in fostering inclusive and sustainable food systems, focusing in particular on sub-Saharan Africa.

In this PhD thesis, Leah M. Ashe from Cardiff University School of Planning and Geography, examines how narratives of “food security” are constructed in New York city and Bogotá and how they are influenced by different development ideologies and discourses.

This study evaluates urban agriculture in Ghent, Belgium, and Warsaw, Poland, and argues that local context is not reflected in current urban agriculture governance approaches. The authors critique recent discourse on urban agriculture as being overwhelmingly positive and uncritical, saying that it fails to place it in context and that the potential of urban agriculture requires a more nuanced analysis.

Permaculture is described here as a grassroots movement whose participants attempt to live in a sustainable way, taking inspiration from natural ecosystems in trying to live off the land as much as possible. The idea behind permaculture is to rely as much as possible on perennial crops, to recycle and reuse materials, and reduce waste. 

This study looks into how residential landscapes in Chicago, USA, which constitute the largest single urban land use, benefit ecosystems. It argues that even though we often don’t associate modern urban areas with healthy ecosystems, home gardens in urban landscapes can contribute to important ecosystem services.

This thesis by PhD student Esther Sanyé-Mengual (Autonomous University of Barcelona) discusses urban rooftop farming, its potential and its associated environmental impacts and economic costs.

Following up on the 2nd Webinar of the Climate Change Urban Food Initiative “Food, Climate change and the City” the presentations of the three speakers Tara Garnett (FCRN), Jane Battersby-Lennard (University of Cape Town) and Matthew Thomas (Greater London Authority) are now available online here.