A sustainable pathway towards prioritization of multifunctional benefits in urban agriculture contributing to shrinking cities in developing countries - An empirical case of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Even though currently at the growth stage, many developing countries are projected to experience urban shrinkage in the future, which demands long-term actions to improve urban sustainability. The study's objective is to investigate the feasibility of using urban agriculture as an open space management strategy under future shrinking and ageing scenarios in developing countries from the urban planning perspective. The study set a future urban shrinking and ageing scenario for the Colombo District, Sri Lanka, for the year 2100. It assessed the perceptions of 93 urban planning professionals about using urban agriculture as a strategy to manage open spaces in the study area in the given future scenarios. These respondents were assumed to be future urban planning professionals living in the year 2100.Results revealed that urban planning professionals highly accept that the multifunctionality of urban agriculture is vital for urban sustainability in future urban shrinkage, and higher preferences were shown for the non-cash benefits, including educational, health, and social benefits. The study also identified the sub-benefits that need to be prioritized under each benefit category and the inter-relationships between them. Finally, it was also found that when these multifunctional benefits are integrated into the urban planning under the future urban shrinkage and ageing scenarios, farmlands that are <1 acre in size, home gardens, community gardens, and privately owned lands are the most suitable land-use characteristics to be considered.