Understanding residents’ acceptance of professional urban and peri-urban farming: A socio-economic study in Polish metropolitan areas

Abstract

The aim of the study is to present residents’ views on the perceived risks and acceptance of the maintenance and development of professional Urban Farming (UF) in selected Polish metropolitan areas. Attention was mainly devoted to exploring factors in the acceptance of UF, including the importance of perceived risks associated with urban farming, physical and social distance and the socio-economic characteristics of residents. We surveyed 577 participants from urban and peri-urban areas. The results obtained show that UF is accepted by residents: over 70% approve lasting maintenance of agriculture in metropolitan areas. The analyses show that acceptance of UF depends on two groups of factors: the perception of the risks of UF and the social distance from agriculture. People perceiving a lot of risks associated with urban farming and being characterized by a large social distance to agriculture, i.e. those who do not know farmers, do not take advantage of the offer of UF. Participants who are not involved in various forms of urban and peri-urban agriculture are skeptical about the development of UF. Conversely, those who see fewer hazards and are more closely related to this sector (low social distance) are advocates of this concept. The study shows that the socio-economic characteristics of residents, including age, education, and financial situation, do not differentiate acceptance of UF significantly. The formulated recommendations, i.e. regarding educational activities or the popularization of short supply channels, can help increase acceptance for the maintenance and development of UF.