As one of the oldest activities in human history, urban agriculture (UA) has experienced a renaissance in the past two decades. Predictions made only a decade ago that UA will become a global reality, as much as a global necessity, have turned out to be accurate. Those predictions are reflected in the groundswell of interest in this kind of activity that has proven to be valuable across economic, social and environmental areas of urban life.
A general overview of UA trends globally suggests a complex process where motivations, approaches, benefits, challenges, impacts, attitudes, policies and practices vary. The complex web of factors that impact on the way UA is managed in different parts of the world inevitably suggests a politics of space and confusion in respect of the way urban agriculture can be managed in a balanced way.
The discussion around the benefits and challenges of urban agriculture highlights the need for accurate comparisons to avoid misguided concerns about negative impacts. Research and analysis in the appropriate context can inform effective policies for local authorities
Urban agriculture drivers vary globally. In some regions, it plays a significant role in food supply and access, while in others, it’s linked to socio-environmental sustainability. This essay considers both factors.
It’s critical to recognize that UA has outpaced policy development, making it important to shift focus to smart strategy, supportive policy, and forward-looking community engagement. This can help mitigate risks from ad hoc urban farming projects and ensure the sustainability of large-scale UA. Policy and strategy-driven growth of UA can also be a prudent risk mitigation measure.
Urban food production is evolving and has gained a new perspective as an integral part of the modern city’s economy, contributing to the social wellbeing of communities. This has led to the emergence of technology-driven companies that offer scalable urban farming enterprises, competing with large-scale conventional farming businesses. Notably, urban farming is more linked to commercial ventures that utilize vacant urban spaces, such as abandoned factories or underground air raid shelters, for highly intensive production of specific crops that can be immediately delivered to the market without requiring storage or transportation.
Large-scale urban farming differs from other forms of urban agriculture, which may serve multiple purposes such as improving quality of life, reducing land degradation, promoting education, and building community resilience. However, the growth of urban agriculture is not solely driven by the desire for locally produced food. It is also a powerful creator of social capital, which is crucial for urban communities to adapt and thrive in times of change and challenge.
In the conversations about urban agriculture, profitability is often rushed into discussion, which is understandable given that food production enterprise must be financially independent. However, these discussions often miss or only slightly touch upon the fact that urban agriculture is frequently falsely compared to conventional agriculture. While food production connects the two industries, they operate within different ecosystems enabled by different experiential drivers. Community participation is one such driver, and it deserves larger recognition in the overall story of urban agriculture as a unique and collaborative approach to building a new vision of our urban landscape. As an urban agriculture capacity building company, Gleanr has noticed this trend while talking to people across a broad section of disciplines that feed into the urban agriculture space.
The importance of UA goes beyond the price of vegetables. Food is a powerful means of communication and holds deep symbolic meaning. By growing food together in small urban farming lots, communities create a unique and profound meaning that defines them in special ways.
If you talk to urban food growers, you’ll find that discussions about farming techniques quickly evolve into conversations about community, values, and local life. This community connection is what creates social capital, which is essential for a healthy society. Research shows that social capital has many benefits, including reducing the risk of premature death. Urban agriculture distinguishes itself from conventional farming by its emphasis on social capital as a business model. That’s why Gleanr created an online platform that supports collaboration and provides free resources and tools for creating groups.
While acknowledging the connections to conventional farming and urban planning, it is crucial to establish unique policy settings for urban agriculture. Although these links must be integrated into UA strategy, they should not be confused with exact measures to guide UA. The significant role of human connectedness in food production in dense living spaces calls for a new approach to sustainability, which is undoubtedly exciting.
Gleanr organized the Urban Agriculture Dialogues in Brisbane’s Parliament House in September 2022 to promote policy development based on human connectedness capacity, rather than replicating policies designed for conventional agriculture. This collaborative space aimed to unlock urban agriculture capacity in Australia as a critical building block for food resilience and security, as recognized in a recent industry report by Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL).
The above discussed complexities are part of the motivation behind Gleanr’s drive to transform urban agriculture into a shared space for environmental practitioners, urbanist, technology developers, social planners, policy makers, investors, as well as many others who recognise the full scope of urban agriculture and the Australian community in general.
Note: The full version of this article was first published by HOPE Australia as the feature article in HOPE’s February edition of e-bulletin here HOPE_Enews_bulletin_2023__02.1_—_Feb_2023.pdf (clevvi.com.au)
