The Role of Urban Agriculture in a Secure, Healthy, and Sustainable Food System

Nogeire-McRae, Theresa; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Jablonski, Becca B.R.; Carolan, Michael; Arathi, H. S.; Brown, Cynthia S.; Saki, Hairik Honarchian; McKeen, Starin; Lapansky, Erin; Schipanski, Meagan

doi:10.1093/biosci/biy071

Cited by 54 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…While nutrient recycling has been recognized as an important potential benefit of UA [6,11,33], our results highlight the difficulty in quantifying this ecosystem service. Compostbound nutrients could be considered "recycled" as soon as they are applied to an urban garden, in which case higher compost application would necessarily maximize nutrient recycling.…”

Section: Sum Of Squares F Ratio P-valuementioning

confidence: 76%

Quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture

2020

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The use of compost in urban agriculture offers an opportunity to increase nutrient recycling in urban ecosystems, but recent studies have shown that compost application often results in phosphorus (P) being applied far in excess of crop nutrient demand, creating the potential for P loss through leachate and runoff. Management goals such as maximizing crop yields or maximizing the mass of nutrients recycled from compost may inadvertently result in P loss, creating a potential ecosystem disservice. Here, we report the results from the first two years of an experimental study in which four different crops grown in raised-bed garden plots with high background P and organic matter received one of two types of compost (municipal compost made from urban organics waste, or manure-based compost) at two different levels (applied based on crop N or P demand), while additional treatments received synthetic N and P fertilizer or no soil amendments. Because of the low N:P ratio of compost relative to crop nutrient uptake, compost application based on crop N demand resulted in overapplication of P. Crop yield did not differ among treatments receiving compost inputs, and the mass of P recovered in crops relative to P inputs decreased for treatments with higher compost application rates. Treatments receiving compost targeted to crop N demand had P leachate rates approximately twice as high as other treatments. These results highlight tradeoffs inherent in recycling nutrients through UA, but they also show that targeted compost application rates have the capacity to maintain crop yields while minimizing nutrient loss. UA has the potential to help close the urban nutrient loop, but if UA is to be scaled up in order to maximize potential social, economic, and environmental benefits, it is especially important to carefully manage nutrients to avoid ecosystem disservices from nutrient pollution.

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Section: Sum Of Squares F Ratio P-valuementioning

confidence: 76%

Quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture

2020

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“…Although the land requirements and productivity of urban agriculture would vary from place to place and would also depend on the methods used (e.g., use of fertilisers, organic or biodynamic growing of plants), it is possible to provide some estimates of the food calorific potential of a garden bed. As Australian cities have a comparable large number of sunny days as in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA and the diets in both countries are very similar, it may be possible to draw comparisons with this American case study which refers to a raised bed garden [90]. Table 1 shows the annual nutritional contribution of the plants grown in similar conditions on a 10 m 2 raised bed garden based on a daily intake of 2000 calories for an average adult.…”

Section: Integrating Urban Agriculture-the Role Of the Plannermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 2 lists some of them. There are, however, potential hazards, such as elevated levels of phosphorous and nitrogen in the soils, if compost and fertiliser management is not done properly [90]. Table 2.…”

Section: Integrating Urban Agriculture-the Role Of the Plannermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reduces land conversion for agriculture and allows reuse of currently irrigated lawns in some regions; increases nutrient recycling opportunities, including recycling of household waste; better biodiversity and provides habitat for some species; reduces transportation and storage of carbon; offsets agricultural water use if captured rainwater can meet garden needs; conserves genetic diversity Source: Compiled from [90].…”

Section: Nature Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Framework for Integrating Agriculture in Urban Sustainability in Australia

2019

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Rapid urbanisation all over the world poses a serious question about urban sustainability in relation to food. Urban agriculture can contribute to feeding city dwellers as well as improving metropolitan environments by providing more green space. Australia is recognised as one of the most urbanised countries in the world, and achieving urban sustainability should be high on the policy and planning agenda. A strong consensus exists among policymakers and academics that urban agriculture could be a tenable way of enhancing urban sustainability, and therefore, it should be a vital part of planning processes and urban design as administered by local and state governments. However, in recent decades, planning has overlooked and failed to realise this opportunity. The most significant constraints to urban agriculture are its regulatory and legal frameworks, including access to suitable land. Without direct public policy support and institutional recognition, it would be difficult to make urban agriculture an integral part of the development and planning goals of Australian cities. Developing and implementing clear planning policies, laws and programs that support urban agriculture can assist in decreasing competing land demands. This study analyses the policy and planning practices that can support integrating urban agriculture into city land-use planning. It examines current practices and identifies existing opportunities and constraints. An integration framework for urban agriculture for Australian cities is presented. If implemented, such a conceptual framework would allow improved sustainability of cities by bringing together the advantages of growing food within a greener urban environment.

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“…The expansion of UA in recent years provides a range of potential social, economic, health, and environmental benefits to urbanites [6]. UA has potential environmental benefits including reduction of transportation-related energy consumption [7], creating habitat for pollinators [8], reducing urban heat island effect [9], and providing a beneficial reuse for wastewater and organic matter [10,11].…”

Section: Introduction 'A Good Way To See the Embedding Problem Is To mentioning

confidence: 99%

Would a sustainable city be self-sufficient in food production?

Small¹,

McDougall²,

Metson³

2019

Int. J. DNE

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Urban agriculture has increased in many cities and has the potential to provide an array of benefits including increased local food production, nutrient recycling, urban green space, and biodiversity. While certain environmental benefits of urban agriculture are evident, it is not clear what the optimal extent of urban agriculture would be in designing a sustainable city. Closing the loop by recycling waste products into new resources is fundamental to sustainability, but the extent to which this should occur at local, regional, or global scales is an open question. We analyze how potential benefits and costs associated with urban agriculture scale with the extent of implementation, and compare potential tradeoffs in different metrics of sustainability. We assess how the appropriate metrics to optimize in a given city are context-dependent. For example, maximizing production in a small land footprint could be important in densely developed urban environments, whereas filling vacant land with food-producing gardens may be a more appropriate goal in certain post-industrial cities. We assess the potential role that urban agriculture plays in making urban food systems more resilient to climate change and other disruptions. Finally, we consider a case study comparing the resources required and pollution generated to produce the lettuce supply of on U.S. metropolitan area through outdoor urban agriculture and indoor urban agriculture, compared to conventional production and cross-continental transportation. This analysis illustrates the importance of considering multiple metrics in assessing sustainability of urban agriculture.

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The Role of Urban Agriculture in a Secure, Healthy, and Sustainable Food System

Cited by 54 publications

References 58 publications

Quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture

Quantifying nutrient recovery efficiency and loss from compost-based urban agriculture

A Framework for Integrating Agriculture in Urban Sustainability in Australia

Would a sustainable city be self-sufficient in food production?

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