This investigation highlights the role of on-farm stores on the rural-urban fringe near Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Farming near a large urban centre was found to create opportunities for higher returns such as marketing of local food and agritourism. However existence of farming near urban areas depends on higher returns and a supportive public. Longitudinal case study of four farm stores operating nearly year round within the Agricultural Land Reserve revealed that the farm stores catered to a rural idyll that reflects cultural conceptions of farm life. We suggest the multifunctional landscape of the farm store provides economic and cultural benefits, and should be considered as sustaining agriculture. However operators must shape their offerings according to a dialectic with the non-farming public who have strong expectations of the farm experience. The study revealed that farm store operators in particular share the rural idyll of urban consumers, though agritourism operators are more consciously including rural elements in their operations. Though multifunctionality was a choice, it was influenced by the customer base and created its own challenges and costs.

Over the last 50 years, London has successfully adapted to technological change and globalization, making it the major driver of the UK economy. But its strengths have also made the city particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of COVID-19, and potentially also to wider negative economic implications of the crisis. Many of London’s key sectors rely on proximity, agglomeration economies and externalities. We evaluate the available data on the impact of the pandemic on London to date, with a particular focus on the differential effects between sectors. We also identify seven key trends, affecting both the demand and supply side of the economy, that are likely to have significant medium- to long-term economic impacts, and assess the potential impacts on London’s major industrial sectors. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 may further accentuate the existing divide between globally competitive advanced producer services and more locally focused sectors providing lower-value personal and household services, posing a number of significant policy challenges.