Food and agriculture for the urban future
Urbanization is our future” and food and nutrition security will always be a daily and critical need for the city dwellers. The link that cities have with agriculture and management of natural resources is still strong and remains important for their sustainability. Due to recent food price crises, with riots occurring in numerous cities, hunger became vocal and food emerged in the political agenda. Conflicts, climate change and extreme natural events and economic turmoil increase food and nutrition insecurity and put millions of people at risk, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable living in urban areas. With the rise of obesity and other non communicable diseases, consumption habits are also getting high in the agenda. In all countries, in order to support sustainable diets, cities need to sustainably bring food and agriculture back on the local agenda in order to promote food system approaches with stronger urban-rural linkages.
Remi Kahane, 14 May 2012The role of a city is to secure its population. From the origins of civilization, living together offered more benefits (security, social relationship, education, innovation...)than living alone. Now that most people are forced to live in cities, their security role shall not be forgotten, in particular the food and nutrition security.
Therefore, urban planning should keep in mind, as a background, this security role for a city, with space for production in open fields, greehouses or gardens, and room in the city regulation thus accepting such an activity. However, agriculture in not only food production, and the city is first of all an ideal market place for food produce. City planners should facilitate rather than constrain access of food to the city, wherever it comes from, offering clean, safe and attractive places for saling, buying, processing, consuming. The market places are the strongest links of a city to its countryside, physically and culturally.
Agriculture is not only about food, it is also about environment, also in a city. Because a city uses natural resources (land and water mainly), and generates wastes (liquid and solid), a lot of wastes. Agriculture can be a solution not to compete too much for resources and to recycle a part of the wastes if it is integrated in the city planning.
Naomi Tsur, 18 May 2012I wish to tune into Julien's thoughts on cities and agriculture.
Professionals from other disciplines do not realize that effectively the planning of a city will establish and perpetuete the behavior codes dictated by the planners. Values such as urban agriculture and local food markets must be integrated into the system. These important values were an integral part of city life until the Industrial Revolution, , and one of the urban planning lessons on the table for us all is that the carbon footprint resulting from changing our urban lifestyle and alienating us from the source of food production and sales, may turn out to be much greater in impact than the carbon footprint of the machines that we proclaim to have been the chief source of pollution resulting from said revolution. This does not mean we have to go back to the Middle Ages, but we should be able to combine the positive values of previous generations with cutting edge smart growth guidelines in our modern cities.
Cecilia Herzog, 24 May 2012We have numerous opportunities that are being lost in Rio de Janeiro, once the urban expansion is the driver of the economical driver of the real estate market with the support of the city transportation modes that are being implemented. There is a clear focus on the erradication of the existent urban agricultural productive landscapes to give place to built and impervious surfaces (gray infrastructure) and comestic gardens with few exotic plant species. Unfortunatelly, the city is selling an international image of green growth, but it is not more than a green wash, once native Atlantic Rain Forest ecosystems remnants, still protected by law are under threat of disapearance together with the food productive areas. We would like to give visibility to what is really happening in our beautiful city! If tehre is any chance, please let me know.
Cecilia Herzog, 24 May 2012Forgot to say that we are a research Institute on Green Infrastructure, which includes the search of all opportunities to locally produce food, educate and reconnect people with nature and ecossystems that support their lives. chech on our website www.inverde.org
http://www.inverde.org
Mashallah Ali-Ahyaie, 5 August 2012Dear Julien Custot,
Don't you think there might be a relation between your post and that of mine as follows?:
Mashallah Ali-Ahyaie, 2 August 2012 09:52
Changes Required in the Buildings Outlook; Hybrid Agricultural Green Residential Buildings.
http://www.worldurbanforum.org/sustainable-cities/changes-required-in-the-buildings-outlook-hybrid-agricultural-green-residential-buildings
All the best,
Mashallah Ali-Ahyaie
Sustainable Cities: Changes Required in the Buildings Outlook; Hybrid Agricultural Green Residential Buildings. - World Urban Forum Dialogues
http://www.worldurbanforum.org/sustainable-cities/changes-required-in-the-buildings-outlook-hybrid-agricultural-green-residential-buildings
Professor KK Pandey, 5 August 2012Yes,Food security is an important concern.Thios needs wider actions across the cities including smaller towns so that they provide necessary facilities for seed stores,cold storage,agro based industries etc.
Another point is to maintain hyegiene in the processing and delivery of food items to final consumers.Both deserve suitable attention in the planning for our cities.