Agriculture on the edge: strategies to abate urban encroachment onto agricultural lands by promoting viable human-scale agriculture as an integral element of urbanization

Abstract

In the Greater Vancouver region (Canada) tensions exist where urbanization encroaches onto agricultural land. A recently issued white paper proffered ideas to stimulate discussion on land-use plans and public policies to encourage and enhance agriculture while accommodating a doubling of the region's population. It evoked a visceral response from local and regional politicians, planners and agrologists who saw it as an heretical attempt to undermine land conservation. Proponents saw innovative strategies to ameliorate entrenched antipathy between competing perspectives. The core arguments and corresponding critique, outlined in this paper, bring to light elements of a broader debate about the vitality and sustainability of agriculture in British Columbia, as elsewhere, centring on issues of food security (supply) and food sovereignty (control) within two competing agricultural paradigms: human-scale agri-food systems and conventional industrial agri-business. Municipal enabled agriculture (MEA) is advanced as a catalyst for the full integration of the agri-food system within the planning, design, function, economy and community of cities and vice versa. MEA can make significant contributions to local and regional economies and has the potential to alter the way communities are designed to reduce unsustainability, planned to incorporate resilience, and organized so that they flourish socially and culturally.

Diversity and nutrient balances of urban and peri-urban farms in Ethiopia

“…The majority of LS farms in this study were land-less, and almost all feeds were scavenged and/or purchased from other regions. Condon et al (2010) and Nigussie et al (2015) also reported shortage of land as the main constraint for urban farmers. Land is very expensive in urban areas, and priority is given to residential areas and commercial centers demanded by the rapidly growing urban population at the rate of 3.8, 4.5 and 3.0% per year in Addis Ababa, Adama and Jimma, respectively (Haile Mariam and Adugna 2011).…”

Beyond Protection: Delineating the Economic and Food Production Potential of Underutilized, Small-parcel Farmland in Metropolitan Surrey, British Columbia

“…Within Metro Vancouver, the City of Surrey exhibited the highest growth rate during the most recent census period, and is now home to 19 percent of the province's population (468,251). This has placed enormous development pressure on agricultural lands and resulted in a situation in which the real estate value of ALR land is far in excess of that justified by any form of production agriculture (Condon et al, 2010). In economic terms, the opportunity cost of ALR land being used for agricultural purposes is too high.…”

“…This has encouraged profligate establishment of rural residences and various non-farm ALR land use, especially in peri-urban regions such as metroVancouver. It has also been observed that the ALR has functioned as a de facto urban growth boundary in B.C., and in metropolitan areas (especially) the ALR has not curtailed speculative land holding (Condon, Mullinix, Fallick, & Harcourt, 2010). In the City of Surrey, approximately 8,787 hectares (21,713 acres) were designated as part of the ALR.…”

La gouvernance territoriale agricole : l’exemple de la viticulture et de l’oléiculture dans l’agglomération de Toulon (France)

“…L'émer-gence récente des AMAP (Association pour le Maintien de l'Agriculture Paysanne), l'engouement pour les circuits courts de commercialisation, et plus généralement les attentes sociétales vis-à-vis d'une alimentation plus saine, (Nickerson, 1997) ont fait redécouvrir une activité qui semblait ne plus avoir sa place dans l'espace urbain. Désormais l'espace agricole intra-urbain fait l'objet d'une réflexion globale dans les projets sur la ville, comme l'illustre l'apparition d'opérations d'agri-urbanisme (Condom et al, 2010).…”