Abstract
Today, the uncontrolled urban expansion and ever-increasing rise of construction have caused the need for food, urban greenery, and a healthy environment to be felt more than any other time. On the other hand, population growth and the reduced production of agricultural products and food have jeopardized food security in urban areas, which will endanger the sustainable development of cities. However, the main problem, in which many societies are involved, is how to respond to these needs in a sustainable way. One of the ways of responding to these dilemmas in large cities is the purposeful implementation of urban agriculture. Urban agriculture development, as an important issue, requires the adoption of fundamental and logical policies. In this regard, this research was conducted to evaluate the extent of adherence to urban agriculture in Iran’s eight densely populated cities using a new combined approach of the best–worst method (BWM) and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS). The results indicated that urban agriculture still has a long way to go and should be considered more seriously. Moreover, vertical farming has been suggested as one of the ways of promoting urban agriculture in the country and smoothing the way to sustainable development.
Highlights
In recent years, the idea of green cities has been proposed for the sustainability of urban environments and, as the essence of sustainable urban development, has placed a lot of emphasis on the need to pay attention to the environmental status of cities and the communities’ duties towards future generations [1,2,3,4]
Today, urban agriculture development can have at least two basic roles: It initially provides food security for urban communities and, in the second step, it will reduce the burden of food supply that affects rural communities
This study aims to examine the extent to which cities are committed to implementing urban agriculture development policies by considering the dimensions affecting it in eight major cities of Iran
Summary
The idea of green cities has been proposed for the sustainability of urban environments and, as the essence of sustainable urban development, has placed a lot of emphasis on the need to pay attention to the environmental status of cities and the communities’ duties towards future generations [1,2,3,4]. Agriculture is one of the most important economic sectors and recognized as one of the foundations for the food security of societies. Mismanagement in this area has had devastating consequences, such as reduced production, increased demand, and severe climate change, and caused food crises in many parts of the world [7,8]. Urban agriculture generates food supplies in cities and addresses problems such as poverty, malnutrition, and environmental degradation and provides food security [13,14], while providing many business opportunities for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs [15]. Today, urban agriculture development can have at least two basic roles: It initially provides food security for urban communities and, in the second step, it will reduce the burden of food supply that affects rural communities
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