scholarly journals Urban Agriculture for Poverty Alleviation:A Case Study of Hyderabad, India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Charles Devenish

<p>Conceptualising sustainable development as that which seeks to achieve holistic well-being means that as a barrier to attaining and sustaining well-being, poverty takes on a similarly more broad definition. Within this framework it is proposed that the breakdown of community; the extinction of experience; degradation of the natural environment; and food insecurity are examples of poverty in the contemporary urban setting because they obstruct access to overall well-being. Through a case study of the Resource Centres for Urban Agriculture and Food Security - Cities Farming for the Future (RUAF-CFF) project being piloted in Surabhi Colony, Hyderabad, India, urban agriculture is assessed as a means of alleviating these diverse forms of poverty. While the findings indicate some success at the project level, urban agriculture's limited ability to address Hyderabad's more widespread and pressing problems - in particular its water scarcity - coupled with the form of development the city is taking means that it is unlikely urban agriculture will gain the institutional support necessary for its further spread throughout the city. Although such findings do not inspire hope for the future use of urban agriculture as a poverty alleviation strategy within Hyderabad, a number of issues are considered which suggest that urban agriculture should rather be supported for its ability to facilitate 'good change' in our urban centres.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Charles Devenish

<p>Conceptualising sustainable development as that which seeks to achieve holistic well-being means that as a barrier to attaining and sustaining well-being, poverty takes on a similarly more broad definition. Within this framework it is proposed that the breakdown of community; the extinction of experience; degradation of the natural environment; and food insecurity are examples of poverty in the contemporary urban setting because they obstruct access to overall well-being. Through a case study of the Resource Centres for Urban Agriculture and Food Security - Cities Farming for the Future (RUAF-CFF) project being piloted in Surabhi Colony, Hyderabad, India, urban agriculture is assessed as a means of alleviating these diverse forms of poverty. While the findings indicate some success at the project level, urban agriculture's limited ability to address Hyderabad's more widespread and pressing problems - in particular its water scarcity - coupled with the form of development the city is taking means that it is unlikely urban agriculture will gain the institutional support necessary for its further spread throughout the city. Although such findings do not inspire hope for the future use of urban agriculture as a poverty alleviation strategy within Hyderabad, a number of issues are considered which suggest that urban agriculture should rather be supported for its ability to facilitate 'good change' in our urban centres.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Jelena Maric ◽  
Djukic Aleksandra ◽  
Branislav Antonic ◽  
Danilo Furundzic ◽  
Vladimir Parezanin

Working people spend around 54% of their waking hours at a workplace, according to recent statistics. Work-related stress is unavoidable, and it can damage the health of employees and affect business performance. In this paper, we argue that open space inside the workplace environment can have a positive influence on reducing overall stress levels in all the categories of users. To our knowledge, there is a significant lack of research considering specific business districts and the gated complexes called business parks, especially in post-socialist Eastern European cities, where there they are still a novelty. Empirical research in this study is on the single case study of Business Park “Airport city” in Belgrade, Serbia. Its main focus is on the survey conducted with 235 participants based on a questionnaire, which examines the relation between workplace stress and workplace environments. The findings from the questionnaire show that the frequency, duration, and activity of open space usage influence the stress levels of employees in this specific workplace, while it is not visible relating to their age and gender. Additionally, final implications suggest that improved open space, such as well-expected greenery, but also the urban design non-associative to workspace and the socialization and exercise amenities customized for frequent and short work breaks, can facilitate the overall well-being of employees. They are innovative elements in relatively underdeveloped research on stress measures with open space usage characteristics in the specific (gated) workplace setting.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Osman Nabay ◽  
Abdul R. Conteh ◽  
Alusaine E. Samura ◽  
Emmanuel S. Hinckley ◽  
Mohamed S. Kamara

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Chun Cheung

This paper looks at the City of Melbourne's new office development CH2 as a case study of world class energy performance. In particular, the integrated design of conventionally independent systems has led to the potential to deliver significant savings to the Council and to deliver better environmental conditions to building occupants that in turn may contribute to satisfaction, well-being and productivity. It is concluded that this project has the potential to be an iconic example of effective implementation of ESD (environmental sustainable design) principles and therefore act as a demonstration project to others. Energy efficiency of more than 50% of current benchmarks for Melbourne is effected. Energy harvesting is defined as arising from squander, waste and nature, which is a new concept introduced in this paper to better describe the design decision process.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariwan Jamal ◽  
Wanawsha Khasraw ◽  
Shaey Khabat ◽  
Rozhen K. Mohammed-Amin

Walkable cities, neighborhoods, and streets promote good health. A growing number of research show compelling evidence about the positive impacts of walkable neighborhoods and streets on everything from real-estate values to health, mental well-being, crime rate, safety feeling, creativity, and even making cities more democratic. Walkability has health, environmental, and economic benefits. For example, several studies found that people in walkable neighborhoods have a higher amount of physical activity and were substantially less likely to be overweight or obese than those living in low-walkable neighborhoods. Walkable neighborhoods and streets incorporate features that promote regular walking, cycling and public transit use. While the city of Sulaimani in general suffers from lack of walkable neighborhoods and streets, due to many factors including incomplete streets, some of the city’s neighborhoods and streets have potential for becoming effective walkable neighborhoods and streets. The recent mixed use developments and re-developments in some of the areas and streets in the city have attracted a large number of people and increased the necessity of making those areas and streets more pedestrian-friendly and walkable. This research aims at investigating walkability characters in Sulaimani city’s recently developed mixed-use streets through closely examining a representing case study, Jamal Irfan street. The research then proposes strategies, guidelines, and urban design interventions that make those streets more pedestrian friendly according to urban design standards.


Author(s):  
Julia Evangelista ◽  
William A. Fulford

AbstractThis chapter shows how carnival has been used to counter the impact of Brazil’s colonial history on its asylums and perceptions of madness. Colonisation of Brazil by Portugal in the nineteenth century led to a process of Europeanisation that was associated with dismissal of non-European customs and values as “mad” and sequestration of the poor from the streets into asylums. Bringing together the work of the two authors, the chapter describes through a case study how a carnival project, Loucura Suburbana (Suburban Madness), in which patients in both long- and short-term asylum care play leading roles, has enabled them to “reclaim the streets,” and re-establish their right to the city as valid producers of culture on their own terms. In the process, entrenched stigmas associated with having a history of mental illness in a local community are challenged, and sense of identity and self-confidence can be rebuilt, thus contributing to long-term improvements in mental well-being. Further illustrative materials are available including photographs and video clips.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Caryl Ramos

<p>The increasing housing demands from population growth creates a persistent housing shortage and unaffordability in our cities. Students are one demographic that is dramatically affected as they move closer to their education provider for study. The student influx at the start of the semester creates a large demand in the already inadequate housing market. Students with a limited budget have reduced accommodation options and this consequently drives many into a state of homelessness. A study from University of Otago measures that over a quarter of New Zealand’s homeless population are students (Amore, 2016). This considerable number of students are living in cars, tents, couch-surfing and sleeping rough for weeks during their studies. The desperate situation impinges on the student’s health and well-being and thus their academic performance.  In this context, the scope of this research focuses on the requirements of homeless tertiary students in the urban setting. Their vulnerability, insecurity and distress are explored to provide direction to solutions that will alleviate the existing problems of their insufficient living environments. As proximity to the education providers and amenities are key factors, this thesis examines underutilised and leftover spaces within the city as opportunities for inhabitation, and to create efficient use of urban space. Currently, there are successful examples of activating overlooked laneways into vibrant spaces. However, these transformations rely on the activities in the lane and the interventions are largely landscaping and installations. By investigating the successful regeneration of previously undesirable and neglected spaces through architectural re-imagination, this thesis identify laneways to be a potential site to the urgent need for shelters.  The architectural experiments and design development are informed by the combination of site challenges and programme to form an overall design-led research. The thesis tests how temporary modular design has a significant role in the design of economic and adaptable solutions for the increasing issue of homelessness. This establishes that through a critical design, we may shelter those in desperate need within the urban context. The architecture provides a safe environment that is empathetic to its users and the larger urban scale while also creating a statement and awareness to homelessness. The thesis concludes with the design framework for a single test site and assesses its suitability for future application to other leftover spaces in the city.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Weissman

AbstractThroughout the USA, urban agriculture is expanding as a manifestation of an emerging American food politics. Through a case study of Brooklyn, New York, I used mixed qualitative research methods to investigate the political possibilities of urban agriculture for fostering food justice. My findings build on the existing alternative food network (AFN) literature by indicating that problematic contradictions rooted in the neoliberalization of urban agriculture limit the transformative possibilities of farming the city as currently practiced in Brooklyn. I suggest that longstanding agrarian questions—concerns over the relationship between agriculture and capitalism and the politics of small-scale producers—are informative for critical interrogation of urban agriculture as a politicization of food.


Author(s):  
Annie Crane

The purpose of this study was to analyze guerrilla gardening’s relationship to urban space and contemporary notions of sustainability. To achieve this two case studies of urban agriculture, one of guerrilla gardening and one of community gardening were developed. Through this comparison, guerrilla gardening was framed as a method of spatial intervention, drawing in notions of spatial justice and the right to the city as initially theorized by Henri Lefebvre. The guerrilla gardening case study focuses on Dig Kingston, a project started by the researcher in June of 2010, and the community gardening case study will use the Oak Street Garden, the longest standing community garden in Kingston. The community gardening case study used content analysis and semi-structured long format interviews with relevant actors. The guerrilla gardening case study consisted primarily of action based research as well as content analysis and semi-structured long format interviews. By contributing to the small, but growing, number of accounts and research on guerrilla gardening this study can be used as a starting point to look into other forms of spatial intervention and how they relate to urban space and social relations. Furthermore, through the discussion of guerrilla gardening in an academic manner more legitimacy and weight will be given to it as a method of urban agriculture and interventionist tactic. On a wider scale, perhaps it could even contribute to answering the question of how we (as a society) can transform our cities and reengage in urban space.


TERRITORIO ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Chiara Tornaghi

This paper presents an English case of urban agriculture, the Edible Public Space Project in Leeds, contextualised in a context of urban agriculture initiatives committed to social-environmental justice, to the reproduction of common goods and the promotion of an urban planning which promotes the right to food and to the construction of urban space from the bottom up. The case study emerged as the result of action-research at the crossroads between urban planning policies, community work and critical geography. As opposed to many similar initiatives, the Edible Public Space Project is not intended merely as a temporary initiative hidden within the tiny folds of the city, but rather as an experiment which imagines and implements alternatives to current forms of urban planning within those folds and it contextualises them in the light of the ecological, fi nancial and social crisis of the last decade.


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