scholarly journals Sustainable Urban Agriculture as Functional Hybrid Unit—Issues of Urban Resilience

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 462
Author(s):  
Magdalena Grochulska-Salak ◽  
Aleksandra Nowysz ◽  
Anna Tofiluk

The aim of the research is to present a review of urban agriculture as synergic green and blue infrastructure solutions and to evaluate modern hybrid units with biomass and food production, and water retention in urbanized areas. The synergy between technologies of biomass production and water reuse provides the basis for the idea of self-sufficient urban units and sustainable agriculture. The research work defines the criteria and typology for urban resilience solutions. The analyses concern the correlation between production, management, retention, and reuse of water as a part of solutions for the model of a sustainable urban agriculture system in a compact city. The obtained results describe typology for cultivation and production in the modern city. Creating a resilient city connected with requirements posed by civilization concern changes in functional and spatial structure of the compact city. The discussion is supplemented with conclusions to the issue of synergy in urban planning, architecture, and engineering solutions. The article describes implementation technologies for city resilience in the context of agricultural production, energy and water management for the local community, and the ecosystem services in the city.

Author(s):  
Rashad Shabazz

This epilogue focuses on Chicago's changing racial geography, arguing that this change is creating not only gentrification in parts of the city, but also openings for Black Chicagoans to augment their geography. Since the mid-1990s abandoned lots all over Chicago have been turned into spaces of agricultural production. Not limited to middle-class white neighborhoods, urban gardens have sprung up in poor and working-class communities on the South and West Sides of the city. This is not the first time Chicagoans have performed agriculture in the city. The city has a long history of urban agriculture. This epilogue shows that green spaces can undo the consequences of carceral space by enabling Black Chicagoans to eat fresh fruits and vegetables in places with little retail access to them and creating environments of stress reduction for the entire community. It also demonstrates that the poor and the working class can be architects and planners, that they can augment their geographies in ways that produce healthy people and vital, vibrant communities—on their own terms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Marco Spada ◽  
Stefano Bigiotti

<p class="PublicSpace-Keywords">In this paper we examine the effects of urban farming in a worldwide system of dismissed areas affected by the phenomena of large-scale industrial dismissing and shrinking cities. We study the features of urban decay and subsequent spill overs of land and soil use in private and public conduct in agri-urbanism. The connection between the city and its farmland could represent an opportunity to improve the welfare of the whole area near the city, made possible by establishing a close relationship between the development of sustainable agriculture and the city. This renewed interest in agricultural production not only depends on urban and - or economic interest, but on a new conception of city that can improve the use of agricultural gardening to overcompensate for the empty spaces between industrial and rural areas, as well as those peri-urban spaces which are included between buildings and sub-urban voids.</p>


Some communities have moved from the countryside to the city for different reasons, sometimes they have managed to settle in slums and some people go to agricultural production inside the city for their support, by means of a knowledge they bring from the countryside, seeking a place offering them useful resources to produce food, in this sense, urban agriculture as an alternative livelihood and occupation, has a symbolic value, since it is a survival strategy for families [3]. For this reason, this study was carried out within the macro project “Implementación del proyecto educativo comunitario salud alimentaria y productiva en el desarrollo sustentable de la invasión de la carrilera, corregimiento Campoalegre del municipio de Tuluá” (translated: “Implementation of the community educational project, food and productive health in the sustainable development of the invasion community La Carrilera, Campoalegre district of the municipality of Tuluá”), of the Health, Care and Society research groups; GIUR and Agricultural Production, which supported the characterization of the sociodemographic, cultural, environmental and agroecological components in the community of “La Carrilera” that aimed to evaluate and to identify the problems and needs of the study population, through the implementation of surveys, measurement of the biological quality of water based on the methodology used by IDEAM, Roldán and Shannon-Weaver, and the characterization of organic solid waste where the method defined by Marmolejo was implemented, resulting in the identification of the different social groups that make up the community, the occupation of women, the economic income of families, among others. In addition, the high levels of water pollution were manifested with a diversity index of 0.83, indicating the low diversity in the tributary of the community, also the BMWP index presented that the quality of the waters is critical and doubtful, and finally obtained an organic waste production of 60.1% identifying that mainly fruit and vegetable waste is produced. Subsequently, from the diagnosis obtained, some intervention strategies were determined for the conservation of the water resource and sustainable management practices for the use and transformation of organic waste in the study population, which allows adopting urban agriculture and contributing to sustainable development of the sector in the municipality of Tuluá, Valle del Cauca.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12238
Author(s):  
Paweł Matacz ◽  
Leszek Świątek

The article deals with the problematic heritage associated with the system of Nazi German underground air raid shelters currently located within the Polish state, in the Baltic port city of Szczecin. The unwanted heritage has been inventoried, archival materials collected, and comparative analyses made of ways in which the underground space can be revitalised. An attempt was made to develop a typology of existing shelters and their locations. In order to overcome the negative associations with the warlike military space, positive system solutions were sought for the productive use of existing concrete structures located underground in central, easily accessible areas of the city districts. A process of upcycling the space was used to make ecologically efficient use of the material resources contained in the shelters. In order to activate the local community, a modular, hydroponic plant-growing system, adapted to the prefabricated spaces of the historical air raid shelters, was proposed. In this way, the central location of the underground structures within the boundaries of residential neighbourhoods was exploited. Such action strengthens the food sovereignty of the inhabitants, initiates bottom-up activity within the boundaries of the neighbourhood unit, and builds social ties in the spirit of a regenerative economy and positive sustainability.


TERRITORIO ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Francesca Cognetti ◽  
Serena Conti

This paper brings to light a depiction of Milan made of small areas connected with the theme of urban agriculture and ‘spaces to care for' within the city. They are projects of different types which have in common the idea of connecting the practice of cultivation with the construction of shared life paths. Thinking which interprets horticulture as a device for ‘cultivating others' is therefore central here. It is a system for social promotion and inclusion, an instrument to practice forms of dissent, a platform for strengthening bonds, a common space for everyday life. In this sense the English community gardens defi nition, which although it places a perhaps excessive emphasis on community aspects, seems apparently more appropriate for referring to this type of experience connected with forms of social participation and a new relationship with the local community.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 823-829
Author(s):  
E. V. Malysh

A city’s potential for food self-sufficiency is expected to increase through the distribution of innovative, high-tech, green agricultural practices of producing food in an urban environment, which can improve the city’s food security due to increased food accessibility in terms of quantity and quality. Aim. Based on the systematization of theoretical approaches and analysis of institutional aspects, the study aims to propose ways to strengthen the city’s food security by improving food supply in urban areas, increasing the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of urban food systems, and changing the diet of urban residents.Tasks. The authors propose methods for the development of urban agricultural production in a large industrial city based on the principles of green economy and outline the range of strategic urban activities aimed at implementing green agricultural production technologies associated with the formation and development of the culture of modern urban agricultural production.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition to examine the specificity of objectives of strengthening a city’s food security by improving the quality of food supply to the population. Methods of comparison, systems analysis, systematization of information, and the monographic method are also applied.Results. A strategic project for the development of urban agricultural systems through the implementation and green development of advanced urban agricultural technologies is described. Green development mechanisms will create conditions for the city’s self-sufficiency in terms of organic and safe products, functioning of short supply chains, and green urban agriculture.Conclusions. Managing the growth of urban agriculture will promote the use of highly effective, easily controlled, resource-efficient, eco-friendly, weather- and season-independent, multi-format urban agricultural technologies. The study describes actions aimed at creating conditions for stabilizing a city’s high-quality food self-sufficiency with allowance for the growing differentiation of citizen needs.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 479
Author(s):  
Julian Laabs ◽  
Daniel Knitter

In this study, we present a transparent and reproducible approach to model agricultural production with respect to environmental characteristics and available labour. Our research focuses on the city of Pergamon and its surroundings, with an emphasis on the transition between the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial Period, where widespread demographic changes took place. We investigated the degree of local self-sufficiency using different concepts of a city’s complementary region. Using simple topographic derivatives, we derive a measure of environmental suitability that we translate into a carrying capacity index. Our results show that workforce was not a limiting factor for local self-sufficiency. However, environmental carrying capacity may have been limiting in a scenario with a large population. An active investment into the environment, e.g., by the construction of terraces, could have helped to increase the degree of self-sufficiency. Future research should investigate the level of resilience of such a coupled socio-ecological system in relation to environmental and socio-cultural dynamics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 104055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Langemeyer ◽  
Cristina Madrid-Lopez ◽  
Angelica Mendoza Beltran ◽  
Gara Villalba Mendez

Inventions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Catalin Anton ◽  
Angela-Eliza Micu ◽  
Eugen Rusu

Traditionally and socially, the tourism in Constanta is considered to be important to the local economy. Sun and beach locations are both a draw for locals and tourists to the city, on the Black Sea. However, vacation-oriented activities in the city only have a seasonal cycle. In this paper, we proposed to analyze the mass tourist activity in Constanta, taking into account economic, social, and environmental conditions. Additionally, we attempted to build a model based on the data available. The model was developed using a PESTEL analysis to determine the supportability factor of the indicators identified. We also set out to create a projection of the activities proposed for analysis by 2050. To create a model for coastal areas, the data used in this research must be accurate and consistent. Furthermore, correctly identifying indicators and their relationships is a critical step in conducting a thorough study. Last but not least, finding the calculation coefficient for the activity in question is critical, as collecting data from various activities might be challenging when trying to find a feasible model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6185
Author(s):  
André Ruoppolo Biazoti ◽  
Angélica Campos Nakamura ◽  
Gustavo Nagib ◽  
Vitória Oliveira Pereira de Souza Leão ◽  
Giulia Giacchè ◽  
...  

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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document