Features and Functions of Multifunctional Urban Agriculture in the Global North: A Review

Orsini, Francesco; Pennisi, Giuseppina; Michelon, Nicola; Minelli, Alberto; Bazzocchi, Giovanni Giorgio; Sanyé‐Mengual, Esther; Gianquinto, Giorgio

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2020.562513

Cited by 88 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 267 publications

(301 reference statements)

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“…Rooftop and terrace gardens, allotment gardens and open-air sky farms are a few examples of unprotected UA systems ( Germer et al, 2011 ; Orsini et al, 2014 ; Orsini et al, 2020 ). These systems may be part of municipal beautification or revaluation projects, as they can also improve the appearance of a neighbourhood (similar to rooftop terraces and gardens).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Urban agriculture (UA) is a strategic tool for food security in cities of the global south, as well as a powerful asset for urban sustainability and climate change adaptation in the global north ( Orsini et al, 2020 ). In recent years, the importance of UA has largely increased, with the flourishing of many diverse initiatives and pilots, such as urban orchards, vertical farms, aquaponics or even more complex “green industry” plants (e.g., water treatment plants integrating hydroponics and heat generation).…”

Section: Urban Agriculture: Goals Benefits and Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

et al. 2021

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Attention to urban agriculture (UA) has recently grown among practitioners, scientists, and the public, resulting in several initiatives worldwide. Despite the positive perception of modern UA and locally grown, fresh produce, the potential food safety risks connected to these practices may be underestimated, leading to regulatory gaps. Thus, there is a need for assessment tools to evaluate the food safety risks connected to specific UA initiatives, to assist practitioners in self-evaluation and control, and to provide policy makers and scholars a means to pursue and assess food safety in city regions, avoiding either a lack or an excess of regulation that could ultimately hinder the sector. To address this aim, this paper reviews the most recent and relevant literature on UA food safety assessments. Food safety indicators were identified first. Then, a food safety assessment framework for UA initiatives was developed. The framework uses business surveys and food analyses (if available) as a data source for calculating a food safety index for single UA businesses and the whole UA landscape of a given city region. The proposed framework was designed to allow its integration into the CRFS (City Region Food System) toolkit developed by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), RUAF foundation (Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security) and Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Urban Agriculture: Goals Benefits and Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Regardless of the potential importance of urban agriculture in developing countries, the practice has still not been synthesized sufficiently in the global academic literature [75]. However, the extensive literature on urban agriculture in developing countries can be found in nonscientific sources, such as technical documents, technical bulletins, and project reports [13]. Published academic information is considered highly reliable as they are subjected to be mandatorily reviewed by other scholars in the same academic discipline.…”

Section: Challenges Of Urban Agriculture Under Different Socio-economic Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among farming intentions in urban agriculture practices in developed countries, social and educational farming are more frequent in Europe, Oceania, and North America. At the same time, few cases of commercial projects are significant in Japan [13]. Another general observation is the diversity of benefits provided by community gardens compared to other models.…”

Section: Contribution Of Studies On Urban Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The general awareness of multifunctionality or multiple benefits of urban agriculture is essential to promote farming in cities [13]. Further, as urban agriculture is linked with multiple factors and highly depends on socio-economic contexts and personal motivations [13,14], it is also important to consider the constraints to promote it realistically [15]. But the factors that impede the development of urban agriculture have been under-researched [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Promoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review

2021

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Multifunctionality of urban agriculture can support the resolve of many urban challenges. Therefore, it is vital to understand the contribution of academic studies on urban agriculture practices as scientific information. The present study followed a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA method. Finally, 54 identified articles were analyzed. The review study mainly examined the contribution of academic literature on urban agriculture under four dimensions: the socio-economic context of the country, type of agriculture model, opportunities, and challenges. The results revealed the focus of academic literature on urban agriculture to show favoritism toward developed countries’ community gardens. Moreover, the leading academic focus on this discipline identifies multifunctionality. People’s motivations in developed countries tend to favor social, health-related, and educational benefits of urban agriculture; however, in developing countries, urban agriculture is more related to economic and ecological needs. Challenges for urban agriculture are also different among developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, existing academic studies have given comparatively less attention to identifying challenges, benefit groups of urban agriculture, and government support. Since urban agriculture is highly reliant on local factors, studying more about opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture under different socio-economic contexts and different agriculture models could be more beneficial to connect farming practices in cities with urban planning. Therefore, to make an adequate academic contribution to urban sustainability, future urban agriculture studies need to be more holistic.

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An Adapted Indicator Framework for Evaluating the Potential Contribution of Bioeconomy Approaches to Agricultural Systems Resilience

Lewandowski,

von Cossel,

Winkler

et al. 2024

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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This study reviews a variety of “bioeconomy approaches” (BAs) to assess their potential contribution to resilience in agricultural systems, focusing on benefits that can improve multi‐functionality regarding private and public goods. It is based on Meuwissen et al.'s framework to assess the resilience of farming systems. Drawing on literature and expert knowledge, this indicator framework is adapted to develop a new framework which is then applied to seven contrasting BAs (miscanthus, perennial flowering wild plant mixtures, permanent grassland, nutrient recycling, agrivoltaics, urban agriculture, and microalgae). The major outcomes are: 1) the extended indicator framework can help evaluate BAs for their potential to foster resilience in future agricultural systems, 2) all BAs are characterized by their ability to provide multiple private and public goods simultaneously, 3) the strongest contribution of BAs to public goods is their function in maintaining the good condition of natural resources and resource‐use efficiency, 4) all BAs can enhance resilience in agricultural systems by contributing diversity, multifunctionality, environmental sustainability, and autonomy, 5) the mitigation of potential drawbacks of BAs implementation requires ex‐ante assessment, favorable BAs combinations, and stakeholder involvement, 6) context‐specific analysis of each BAs is required to assess their qualitative and quantitative contribution to resilience.

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Features and Functions of Multifunctional Urban Agriculture in the Global North: A Review

Cited by 88 publications

References 267 publications

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

Reviewing chemical and biological risks in urban agriculture: A comprehensive framework for a food safety assessment of city region food systems

Promoting Urban Agriculture and Its Opportunities and Challenges—A Global Review

An Adapted Indicator Framework for Evaluating the Potential Contribution of Bioeconomy Approaches to Agricultural Systems Resilience

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