Urban Agriculture In The Neighbourhoods Of Khulna: Towards Biophilic Urbanism

Abstract

Rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation is posing severe environmental issues to cities in the developing countries. Biophilic urbanism, an emerging concept of urban planning that aspires for regenerative sustainability. Urban agriculture, among the several features of biophilic cities, can generate direct short-term economic gains. This study on a city of a developing economy aims to inquire about the scope of urban agriculture at the neighbourhood level. The research applied semi-structured interviews of the residents, visual observation, mapping, review of relevant policy documents and key informant interviews. The results indicate that existing community-led practices are offering vegetables and shades. There are spaces to incorporate urban agriculture as well. Given that the government and non-governmental organizations support this concept, it is remarkable that residents are willing to embrace urban agriculture in a more organized manner. Supportive regulatory frameworks reflect political will toward biophilic urbanism, but institutional support is still required for effective implementation. The findings of this study suggest that biophilic urbanism could be implemented in the urban areas of developing economies.