Peri-urban agro-ecosystems in the Mediterranean: diversity, dynamics, and drivers

Abstract

To address sustainability challenges of agro-ecosystems located in Mediterranean urban regions, this paper focuses on the multidisciplinary subject of urban agricultural systems. To better understand the diversity and dynamics of peri-urban agro-ecosystems and the main drivers of their sustainability, we compare six case studies located in Southern Europe (Montpellier, France; Pisa, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; Athens, Greece) and the Maghreb (Constantine, Algeria; Meknes, Morocco). The research is based on fieldwork in each urban region (qualitative analysis) and literature analysis aimed to position each case study in its national and Mediterranean contexts. The comparison between local contexts indicates large discrepancies in the integration of environmental focus among the respective urban planning objectives. Generally, urbanization tends to accentuate agricultural diversity. The different forms of peri-urban agriculture evolve despite their persistent decline, and they also show a capacity to resist and even new growth in response to urban demand. (Résumé d'auteur

Impacts of urbanization around Mediterranean cities: Changes in ecosystem service supply

“…Changes in farm management may have increased the productivity of remaining agricultural land. Also, since these Mediterranean cities already rely heavily on food imports (Lead et al, 2005;Soulard et al, 2017), a reduction in locally produced food is likely not to lead immediately to a food deficit. However, an increased dependence on global food market prices does render countries more vulnerable to potential food crises.…”

Access to agricultural land in peri-urban spaces: social mobilisation and institutional frameworks in Rome and Valencia

“…The European cities in the Mediterranean Basin have been argued to maintain strong links with their surroundings (Päul and McKenzie, 2013). In a review of the main recent dynamics of periurban agroecosystems, Soulard et al (2017) find that the urban regions of Southern Europe have witnessed a renewal of the links between urban development and agriculture as a consequence of the recent economic crisis and the mobilisation of urban actors to rebuild the food connections between the city and its surrounding countryside. This indicates that the renewal of PUA and its contribution to FNS form part of a broader process of new food politics and cannot be separated from the role of emerging food-related social movements.…”

Agricultural abandonment and resilience in a Mediterranean periurban traditional agroecosystem: a landscape approach

“…In particular, Cerrada-Serra et al (2018) outlined the emergence of initiatives in Huerta de Valencia led by young people who are motivated by new food business opportunities connected with organic and short food chains and who find farming to be a source of income and an unemployment response in the context of economic crisis. This phenomenon is common in other periurban spaces in southern Europe, as noted by Soulard et al (2018). New entrants into farming are widely recognized as important to the ongoing vitality and competitiveness of the agricultural sector in rural regions in Europe (Piorr et al 2018).…”