Urban Food Security and Strategic Planning: Involving Millennials in Urban Agriculture

Abstract

Global population growth and urbanization trends put increasing pressure on food systems. While food demand grows, workforce moves from rural and agricultural areas to cities; hence, local and global food production policies and strategies urge to be redefined. Besides the contribution to biodiversity protection and ecosystem services provision, urban gardening and farming are increasingly considered by policy makers and planners as viable strategies to achieve higher urban food security. This paper proposes a model to study Millennials’ attitude towards urban agriculture, and support the design of involvement strategies. The results show that subjective norms and peer pressure heavily influence the intention to take part in urban gardening and food production. In conclusion, we discuss the integration of the results in the design of better and more informed urban food policies.