As the city grows, what do farmers do? A systematic review of urban and peri-urban agriculture under rapid urban growth across the Global South

Urbanization is spreading across the world and beyond metropolitan areas. Medium-sized cities have also undergone processes of accelerated urban expansion, especially in Latin America, thanks to scant regulation or a complete lack thereof. Thus, understanding urban growth in the past and simulating it in the future has become a tool to raise its visibility and challenge territorial planners. In this work, we use Markov chains, cellular automata, multi-criteria multi-objective evaluation, and the determination of land use/land cover (LULC) to model the urban growth of the city of Temuco, Chile, a paradigmatic case because it has experienced powerful growth, where real estate development pressures coexist with a high natural value and the presence of indigenous communities. The urban scenario is determined for the years 2033 and 2049 based on the spatial patterns between 1985 and 2017, where the model shows the trend of expansion toward the northeast and significant development in the western sector of the city, making them two potential centers of expansion and conflict in the future given the heavy pressure on lands that are indigenous property and have a high natural value, aspects that need to be incorporated into future territorial planning instruments.

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A New Integrated Approach for Municipal Landfill Siting Based on Urban Physical Growth Prediction: A Case Study Mashhad Metropolis in Iran

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13050949 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 949

Author(s):

Salman Qureshi ◽

Saman Nadizadeh Shorabeh ◽

Najmeh Neysani Samany ◽

Foad Minaei ◽

Mehdi Homaee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Growth ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Physical Growth ◽

Support Vector ◽

Markov Chain Method ◽

Physical Expansion ◽

Hierarchy Process ◽

The City

Due to irregular and uncontrolled expansion of cities in developing countries, currently operational landfill sites cannot be used in the long-term, as people will be living in proximity to these sites and be exposed to unhygienic circumstances. Hence, this study aims at proposing an integrated approach for determining suitable locations for landfills while considering their physical expansion. The proposed approach utilizes the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) to weigh the sets of identified landfill location criteria. Furthermore, the weighted linear combination (WLC) approach was applied for the elicitation of the proper primary locations. Finally, the support vector machine (SVM) and cellular automation-based Markov chain method were used to predict urban growth. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed approach, it was applied to a case study, namely the city of Mashhad in Iran, where suitable sites for landfills were identified considering the urban growth in different geographical directions for this city by 2048. The proposed approach could be of use for policymakers, urban planners, and other decision-makers to minimize uncertainty arising from long-term resource allocation.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Agriculture in São Paulo, Brazil

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116185 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6185

Author(s):

André Ruoppolo Biazoti ◽

Angélica Campos Nakamura ◽

Gustavo Nagib ◽

Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão ◽

Giulia Giacchè ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Agriculture ◽

Technical Assistance ◽

Community Gardens ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Food Chains ◽

São Paulo ◽

Sales Channels ◽

Paulo State ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers worldwide were greatly affected by disruptions in the food chain. In 2020, São Paulo city experienced most of the effects of the pandemic in Brazil, with 15,587 deaths through December 2020. Here, we describe the impacts of COVID-19 on urban agriculture (UA) in São Paulo from April to August 2020. We analyzed two governmental surveys of 2100 farmers from São Paulo state and 148 from São Paulo city and two qualitative surveys of volunteers from ten community gardens and seven urban farmers. Our data showed that 50% of the farmers were impacted by the pandemic with drops in sales, especially those that depended on intermediaries. Some farmers in the city adapted to novel sales channels, but 22% claimed that obtaining inputs became difficult. No municipal support was provided to UA in São Paulo, and pre-existing issues were exacerbated. Work on community gardens decreased, but no garden permanently closed. Post COVID-19, UA will have the challenge of maintaining local food chains established during the pandemic. Due to the increase in the price of inputs and the lack of technical assistance, governmental efforts should be implemented to support UA.

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Using Land Cover, Population, and Night Light Data for Assessing Local Temperature Differences in Mainz, Germany

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology ◽

10.1175/jamc-d-14-0124.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 658-670 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jenny Lindén ◽

Jan Esper ◽

Björn Holmer

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Light Intensity ◽

Central Europe ◽

Urban Growth ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Surface Coverage ◽

Daily Maximum ◽

Source Areas ◽

Maximum Temperatures ◽

The City

AbstractUrban areas are believed to affect temperature readings, thereby biasing the estimation of twentieth-century warming at regional to global scales. The precise effect of changes in the surroundings of meteorological stations, particularly gradual changes due to urban growth, is difficult to determine. In this paper, data from 10 temperature stations within 15 km of the city of Mainz (Germany) over a period of 842 days are examined to assess the connection between temperature and the properties of the station surroundings, considering (i) built/paved area surface coverage, (ii) population, and (iii) night light intensity. These properties were examined in circles with increasing radii from the stations to identify the most influential source areas. Daily maximum temperatures Tmax, as well as daily average temperatures, are shown to be significantly influenced by elevation and were adjusted before the analysis of anthropogenic surroundings, whereas daily minimum temperatures Tmin were not. Significant correlations (p < 0.1) between temperature and all examined properties of station surroundings up to 1000 m are found, but the effects are diminished at larger distance. Other factors, such as slope and topographic position (e.g., hollows), were important, especially to Tmin. Therefore, properties of station surroundings up to 1000 m from the stations are most suitable for the assessment of potential urban influence on Tmax and Tmin in the temperate zone of central Europe.

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Skyscrapers: The City and the Megacity

Theory Culture & Society ◽

10.1177/0263276414547776 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 31 (7-8) ◽

pp. 267-271 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Parker

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Urban Form ◽

Short Note ◽

Global South ◽

Global Power ◽

The City

This short note considers the migration of the skyscraper from New York and Chicago to Asia and its absence in the emerging megacities of the Global South. Following 9/11, many commentators assumed that the skyscraper was finished, but this was clearly not the case, with super-tall construction now accelerating. However, the distributions of contemporary skyscrapers show us that there are shifts in global power and also in urban form.

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Cultivating biological and cultural diversity: urban farming in Casamance, Senegal

Africa ◽

10.2307/1161514 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 104-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Olga F. Linares

Keyword(s):

Urban Agriculture ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Urban Poor ◽

West African ◽

Lower Income ◽

Biological Complexity ◽

Urban Farming ◽

Household Economies ◽

City Environment ◽

The City

AbstractAt the present time, urban agriculture—that is, the growing of food crops in backyard gardens, unused city spaces and peripheral zones—is an economically viable alternative for many African migrants. Although previously ‘invisible’ to most developers and economists, urban farming is now recognised as playing a crucial subsistence role in the household economies of lower-income people living in major West African cities. But the practice does more than feed the urban poor. Using the example of Ziguinchor in Casamance, Senegal, it is argued that growing crops in peri-urban and intra-urban zones, on otherwise neglected or half-built-up land, also protects and enriches the city environment while increasing the primary productivity of the inhabitants. Directly, or in more subtle ways, the practice strengthens bonds of friendship, and promotes inter-ethnic co-operation while at the same time helping to maintain biological complexity in interesting and previously unexplored ways. City farming may provide a context through which the urban poor can relate to debates about biodiversity.

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Towards a More Resilient Delhi: Rapid Urbanization and Climate Change

Journal of Extreme Events ◽

10.1142/s2345737618500148 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 05 (02n03) ◽

pp. 1850014

Author(s):

Jasdeep Singh

Keyword(s):

Research Question ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Global South ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Capital City ◽

Sample Population ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Apparent Lack ◽

The City ◽

Resilience Assessment

The discourse on resilient cities encapsulates various analogies, which are further constructed through the work of researchers in creation of several resilience assessment methodologies and toolkits. Despite the presence of numerous resilience assessment tools, there is an apparent lack of participation of residents of the global south within the assessment and iterative transformation processes. The situation, hence, is not truly represented through application of these tools in certain socio-political climates such as of India. Consistent economic growth of India has resulted in rapid urbanization of major cities. But, this has not been supplemented with proper planning, resulting in imbalances in all spheres of city infrastructure. Delhi, capital city of India, has been one of the worst hit cities. The hot seasons have caused thousands of fatalities in the past few years. An attempt is made to review the application of current resilience tools in Delhi against the backdrop of the sustainable development goals. In an attempt to improve the approach of these existing tools, an initial iteration is conducted, hinging on qualitative data obtained through surveying a sample population of the city and accessible quantitative metric data. Possible intervention scenarios are further suggested in view of aforementioned stressors and resilience scores. Research question: Where are the current resilience tools found lacking in the case of the global south, specifically in Delhi? How can the applicability of these tools be improved without compromising the deliverables yet ensuring an all-inclusive approach? Key findings: (1) The city is found lacking in adequate infrastructure facilities to its residents especially within the ambits of basic water and sanitation provision and healthcare services. (2) The city is relatively unprepared to face unforeseen events, both at the administrative and the grassroots levels. The lack of knowledge transfer and cooperation are largely evident.

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Farmers’ Perspective on Sociological and Environmental Issues of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: A Case Study from Western and Southern Regions of Sierra Leone

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v9n7p186 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 186

Author(s):

Osman Nabay ◽

Abdul R. Conteh ◽

Alusaine E. Samura ◽

Emmanuel S. Hinckley ◽

Mohamed S. Kamara

Keyword(s):

Sierra Leone ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Environmental Aspect ◽

Financial Organization ◽

The Social ◽

Alternative Means ◽

Household Assets ◽

Almost All ◽

The City

The paper examined and brought to the fore the typical characteristic of urban and peri-urban farmers in Freetown and Bo communities which serves as major source of supply of agricultural products into the cities’ markets. The social and environmental aspect and perception of producers involved in urban and peri-urban agriculture was examined. Descriptive statistics and pictograms were used to analyze and present the data. Results indicate that 56.34% never went to formal school and mostly dominated by women, showing that farming became the alternative means of livelihood support for those groups. Crops grown are purely influenced by market orientation—demand and cost, as is evident in Gloucester (lettuce, cabbage and spring onions). Potato leaves were commonly grown in almost all communities, reason being that it serves as common/major sauce/vegetable cooked in every household in Sierra Leone. Maize and rice were featured in Ogoo farm—government supervised land set aside purposely for growing crops to supply the city. Findings also revealed that majority of the farmers are resource poor, judging from calculation about their monthly income earning and available household assets and amenities. About 70.4% of the lands the farmers grow their crops on is leased for production. Except for Gloucester community, when costs of production will be summed, minimal benefit seem to be realized from the farming activities. Even though some of these farmers are engaged in organization, many have limited access to micro financial organization that would probably loan them money to upscale production.

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Impact of urban growth in pluvial runoff in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico

Environmental Hydraulics - Theoretical, Experimental and Computational Solutions ◽

10.1201/b10999-60 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 233-235

Author(s):

José García ◽

Guadalupe Gutiérrez ◽

Benito Sáenz ◽

Rodrigo Santos

Keyword(s):

Urban Growth ◽

The City

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Cuatro iniciativas de agricultura en la ciudad frente a la banalización del paisaje histórico urbano | Four urban agriculture initiatives against the banalization of urban historical landscape

ZARCH ◽

10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.201782158 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 228

Author(s):

David Arredondo Garrido

Keyword(s):

Citizen Participation ◽

Urban Agriculture ◽

Social Relations ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Right To The City ◽

Active Perception ◽

Historical Landscape ◽

Historical Heritage ◽

The City ◽

City Centres

En ciudades con un importante patrimonio histórico son cada vez más frecuentes los procesos de homogeneización del paisaje urbano. Una dinámica que conduce a la transformación de determinados entornos históricos en espacios en donde apenas queda lugar para la singularidad, las actividades no reguladas o la participación ciudadana. Este estudio propone analizar una serie de iniciativas desarrolladas en la última década en centros de cuatro ciudades españolas, concretamente en Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid y Zaragoza. Proyectos que se apoyan en la agricultura y la jardinería urbanas para sortear la banalización imperante, creando espacios para la cultura, las relaciones sociales y la imaginación. Pese a las dificultades en su gestión y su repercusión minoritaria, estas intervenciones ejemplifican un modo de reconfigurar el paisaje urbano, planteando esquemas de activación, percepción activa y participación en lugares centrales de la ciudad en proceso de abandono, donde las actividades agrícolas y jardineras adquieren un peso importante.PALABRAS CLAVE: paisaje urbano, acupuntura urbana, agricultura urbana, participación ciudadana, derecho a la ciudad.Processes of homogenization of the urban landscape are becoming more frequent in cities with an important historical heritage. A dynamic that leads to the transformation of certain historical environments in spaces where there is hardly any room for uniqueness, unregulated activities or public participation. This study aims to analyse a number of initiatives developed in the last decade in four Spanish city centres, particularly in Seville, Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza. Projects that are using urban agriculture and gardening to escape form current banality, creating spaces for culture, social relations and imagination. Despite the difficulties in its management and its minor impact, these interventions exemplify a way to reshape urban landscape, through schemes of activation, active perception and participation in abandoned places in the city, where agricultural activities and gardening are now playing an important role.KEYWORDS: urban landscape, urban acupuncture, urban agriculture, citizen participation, right to the city.

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