Introduction
An expanding global urban population , market volatility and a changing climate are challenging the capacities of cities to ensure equitable access, availability and distribution of fresh, nutritious food (Barthel et al. 2015; Thornton 2017). The existence of agriculture in cities is not unusual and its manifestation can and does differ spatially and temporally. For example, urban food growing can be seen as a postmodern response to socioeconomic problems associated with the often discredited (yet persistent) post-war ideas of modernisation and related failings of neoliberal urban industrial growth. These failings are as evident in cities in the developing South, as they are in the developed North, as seen in the de-industrialisation phenomenon in the ârust beltâ, where heavy manufacturing declined in the region primarily bordering the Great Lakes (notably, in rust belt cities such as Detroitâpreviously known as the âmotor cityâ).
The struggle for agriculture in the city in modern capitalist economies is by no means a forgone conclusion. When considering the rise or fall of urban agriculture (UA) in the context of political economy, its success or failure is not necessarily determined by liberal market systems (e.g. North America, Australia, the United Kingdom) or coordinated market systems (e.g. Germany, Japan, Sweden, Austria). This view is supported by instances where urban food activists or social movements for urban food systems change seemingly thrive where actors in the urban food chain engage in coordinated sets of non-market activities and relations (Campbell et al. 2011; Thornton 2018); this engagement can and does occur in both varieties of capitalism (Hall and Soskice 2001). In this context of the neoliberal city, the importance of urban food democracy cannot be understated. Rapid urban population growth and mounting emphasis on creating âsmart citiesâ1 from policy makers, industry and planners in the North and South (Randhawa and Kumar 2017) could very well exacerbate urban social inequity, particularly in the urban food systems (Maye 2018). The value of urban food democracy can be seen in its role as facilitating aspects of everyday urban life that deserve to be part of the smart city conversation; specifically, these aspects are social cohesion, improving urban health, and its educational and advocacy role of urban food systems in reducing CO2, conserving energy and improving the local climate (Harrison and Donnelly 2011; Maye 2018).
For cities in the global South, population expansion invites a host of challenges, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region that struggled to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets for eradicating poverty and hunger (United Nations Economic Commission for AfricaâUNECA 2014). In this region, urban poor households spend from 50% to over 60% of their income on food (Frayne et al. 2010). This is projected to worsen in the future as, by 2060, the ratio of domestic to imported prices for agricultural products will fall in North America and the EU, though rising substantially in developing countries. The steepest price rises will occur in Southern Africa, followed by North Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)âin that order (African Development Bank 2011: 37). Despite this, many city planners in the global North, though also evident in some BRICS2 states (notably in Brazil), seek to integrate green public or social spaces with increasing densities in urban development.
Among the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the âurban SDGâ (SDG11) seeks inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. Although urban food systems are not specifically mentioned, SDG 11 seemingly shares synergies with SDG2, which emphasises ending hunger, achieving food security for all and promoting sustainable agriculture. The chapters in this book will critically explore urban food transitions, particularly various forms of urban (and peri-urban) agriculture, in conceptual and applied contexts. The book will benefit city planners, academics and practitioners seeking âinclusive, resilient and liveable citiesâ through considered integration of urban agriculture and its related activities, as part of a broader policy approach to sustainable urban development. This means, an approach to good urban governance that is economically and socially responsive and in tune with forms of community-driven adaptation of space for the local production, distribution and consumption of nutritious food.
Approach
The approach to this book, though broad, would join contributions reflecting on urban food democracy and integration of its related activities, as part of a broader policy approach to sustainable urban development. With municipal or âofficialâ support of citizen-led urban food initiatives expanding in cities globally, the case studies in this collection should be viewed as a âsnapshotâ of wider trends in urban food democracy. Conceptually, urban governance and social justice provide an analytical framework for holding the collection of conceptual and case study chapters together. This includes the potential enabling role of good urban governance, in developing formal urban food policy that is economically and socially responsive and in tune with forms of community-driven adaptation of space for the local production, distribution and consumption of nutritious food. As a response to spatial marginalised groups, this call is not restricted by boundaries or income levels and is most critical to the health and well-being of an urbanising global population.
Structure of the Book
Authors selected to contribute to this book are experts and practitioners from various disciplines, professions and nationalities, offering rich discussions and original research from North and South cities that are not often seen in the literature, yet offer robust examples of urban food democracy. This edited volume includes both thematic and empirical chapters that critically engage with themes such as urban agriculture, governance, smart cities, food and social justice, and urban biodiversity issues, to name a few.
The chapters to follow offer a multidisciplinary approach to explorations of urban food democracy and governance for food systems change in North and South cities. Part 1 is a thematic section exploring the multifarious ways that cities, at the community and municipal levels, engage in urban food systems change, as they differ conceptually and in practice from place to place. This section will reflect on food systems challenges and opportunities that are unique to culture, governance structures, economy, geography and climate. Bousbaine, Nguendo-Yongsi and Bryant propose a conceptual framework for understanding urban agriculture dynamics and challenges in North and South contexts. In a comparative study of Melbourne and SĂŁo Paulo, Hearn explores commercial and political interests in UA, as a commodity for upmarket housing development, and its âabuseâ of the people-nature tradition of UA. Keech and Reed discuss the role of social media in various European cities where âcritical networksâ are establishing and disseminating urban food growing and new modes of city governance. Following on from Keech and Reedâs exploration of the networked society, Part 1 will conclude with a chapter exploring prescient issues concerning the increasing global interest in harnessing ICT and digital innovation to develop âsmart citiesâ and to what extent these developments might complicate or create obstacles to local-level efforts to coordinate non-market relations in food democracy. These discussions in Part 1 provide the foundation for the applied chapters in Parts 2 and 3. The diversity of these chapters, both geographically and culturally, will contribute to localised notions of âinnovationâ, to be understood here as the ways in which people adapt urban space and engage with institutions to meet their needsâsocially, culturally, ecologically and economically.
In Part 2, Case Studies in the Global North, recent research on urban agriculture in Switzerland will critically engage with food sovereignty as a âNirvana conceptâ (Schweizer Mumenthaler and Cavin). In a case study of Milan, social justice and heritage preservation provide a lens to explore urban agriculture in maintaining traditions and cultural identity (Branduini, Perrin, Nougarèdes and Colli). From Belgium, Bousbaine examines the potential for food belts, as a form of innovation in agriculture, in the feeding of urban populations. In case studies from Australia, Mobbs will identify the regulatory and strategic issues and solutions to urban farming in a case study of Sydney. Part 2 concludes with Spencerâs case study of Queensland, Australia, which critically examines the destruction of mature fruit trees on street verges (nature strip) by the local council, in the Urban Food Street community project.
In Part 3, Case Studies from the Global South, chapters in this section aim to assess urban change (for better or worse) at the government and institutional levels. In Johannesburg, South Africa, Malan discusses findings from research on service learning and training for urban farmers and entrepreneurs (offering useful parallels with Chap. 5, hinting at the importance of developing âsmarter citizensâ for âsmart citiesâ), and to what extent participants can affect long-lasting food systems change. In a second contribution from Malan, he analyses emerging urban farming enterprises in South African townships, and argues for the integration of society, ecology and economy in business creation for sustainable local food systems. In a case study of Zambia, Nel and Binns examine new trends, or signs of change, in institutional support for urban agricultureâis it moving beyond something that is often âtoleratedâ, and what are the outstanding and locational specific structural issues? In a case study of Thimpu, Bhutan, Chand considers future urban planning decisions where agricultural land is zoned for housing development in response to rapid rural-urban migration.
From the BRICS nations, Giacchè, Porto, Nagib, Nakamura and Ranieri identify typologies of UA from a suburban to a city centre continuum in SĂŁo Paulo. In Belo Horizonte, Adil, Rocha, Costa and AraĂşjo consider the challenges of adopting food security programmes across wider metropolitan regions. In China, Luehr, Glaros, Si and Scott address what they have identified as gaps in UA research in China. These gaps include understanding UA typologies, by location and practice; multisectoral perspectives of UA, in terms of producersâ motivations and state a...