Urban Agriculture: Passing Fad or New Prospects for Agriculture and Cities?

Heidrun Moschitz,Christoph Kueffer

doi:10.14512/gaia.25.2.14

Abstract

While urban agriculture might be considered a passing fad, we argue that it is a vehicle to deal with many urgent topics of societal transformation towards a sustainable future. We discuss the potential of urban agriculture to change agriculture and urban life.

Highlights

Schweizerische akademische gesellschaft für umweltforschung und ökologie societé académique suisse pour la recherche sur l’environnement et l’écologie swiss academic society for environmental research and ecology
While urban agriculture might be considered a passing fad, we argue that it is a vehicle to deal with many urgent topics of societal transformation towards a sustainable future
A key interest of the AGUrban Agriculture is to determine how urban agriculture might initiate changes in rural and urban areas, contributing to a sustainable transformation of society (Zingerli and Kueffer 2016): how does urban agriculture stimulate debates about the future of agriculture in Switzerland, and which new perspectives does urban agriculture provide for the future of Swiss cities? We illustrate a state-of-the-art definition of urban agriculture with examples that were discussed in the a new working group (AG), and which show the range of ongoing urban agriculture initiatives in Switzerland

Summary

Introduction

Schweizerische akademische gesellschaft für umweltforschung und ökologie societé académique suisse pour la recherche sur l’environnement et l’écologie swiss academic society for environmental research and ecology. Ed to include formerly rural areas, to com- side but has been integrated into the agglo- eas, alongside a growing demand for urban munity-based urban gardening projects meration of Zurich by urban sprawl repre- land for farming, will challenge urban spathat are often run by non-traditional agri- sents a second type of urban agriculture.

Results

Conclusion