The hidden potential of urban horticulture (report)

The hidden potential of urban horticulture

Urban areas offer considerable potential for horticultural food production, but questions remain about the availability of space to expand urban horticulture and how to sustainably integrate it into the existing urban fabric. We explore this through a case study which shows that, for a UK city, the space potentially available equates to more than four times the current per capita footprint of commercial horticulture.

Rooftop production of vegetables (#journal)

Rooftop production of leafy vegetables can be profitable and less contaminated than farm-grown vegetables

Urban agriculture may solve issues of feeding urban populations. It has been estimated that the total rooftop space in China is about 1 million hectares, some of which can be converted for rooftop farming. This article present here a feasibility study of hydroponically grown vegetables in a rooftop screen house in Guangzhou, China. None of the roof hydroponic vegetables exceeded the maximum residue limit for lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, or nitrate. In contrast, 5 of 98 market vegetables were contaminated by exceeding the maximum residue limit for lead. Similarly 3 were contaminated for arsenic, 23 for nitrate, and 2 for organophosphate or carbamate insecticide. Compared to high-end vegetables sold on the market, rooftop-grown vegetables were competitive in cost and quality. Given that many countries have limited arable land to feed a large population, the widespread adoption of rooftop hydroponics could help expand the total area available for food production.

Edible perennials in small spaces (book)

Edible Perennial Gardening: Growing Successful Polycultures in Small Spaces

 Do you dream of a low maintenance perennial garden? One that is full to the brim of perennial vegetables that you don’t have to keep replanting, but only have a small space?
Do you struggle with too little time for gardening or controlling the pests and diseases that eat your crops? Do you want to grow unusual vegetable varieties? You can do all of this with Edible Perennial Gardening. Anni Kelsey explains how to source and propagate different vegetables, which plants work well together in a polycultures, and what you can plant in small, shady or semi-shady beds as well as in sunny areas.

Everything you need to know about getting started in growing your own food in a low maintenance perennial garden.
Do you dream of a low-maintenance perennial garden that is full to the brim of perennial vegetables that you don’t have to keep replanting, but have only a small space? Do you want a garden that doesn’t take much of your time and that needs little attention to control the pests and diseases that eat your crops? Do you want to grow unusual vegetable varieties? You can have all of this with Edible Perennial Gardening. Anni Kelsey has meticulously researched the little-known subject of edible perennials and selected her favorite, tasty varieties. She explains how to source and propagate different vegetables, which plants work well together in polycultures, and what you can plant in small, shady, or semi shady beds, as well as in sunny areas.
- See more at: http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/edible_perennial_gardening:paperback#sthash.lWEhoRQk.dpuf

Allotments are great for soil quality (journal)

Urban cultivation in allotments maintains soil qualities adversely affected by conventional agriculture  

Maintenance and protection of our soil resource is essential for sustainable food production and for regulating and supporting ecosystem services upon which we depend. This study establishes, for the first time, that small-scale urban food production can occur without the penalty of soil degradation seen in conventional agriculture, and maintains the high soil quality seen in urban greenspaces. Given the involvement of over 800 million people in urban agriculture globally, our findings suggest that to better protect soil functions, local, national and international urban planning and policy making should promote more urban own-growing in preference to further intensification.

 

 

Gardening after catastrophe (book)

Greening in the Red Zone

‘Greening in the red zone’ refers to post-catastrophe, community-based stewardship of nature, and how these often spontaneous, local stewardship actions serve as a source of social-ecological resilience in the face of severe hardship. Two types of evidence are presented in this book. First are explanations on the positive impact of contact with nature, and from resilience scholars who subscribe to the notion that identifying sources of resilience in the face of change is crucial to the long-term well-being of humans, their communities, and the environment. The second source of evidence are case studies of greening in red zones from post-disaster and post-conflict settings around the world, ranging from the highly visible like the greening of the Berlin Wall, to smaller-scale efforts like planting a community garden in a war zone.

Peri-urban agriculture in Lisbon and London (#journal)

Peri-urban agriculture, social inclusion of migrant population and Right to the City: Practices in Lisbon and London

Two main questions are addressed in this paper: to what extent can urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) contribute to the social inclusion of migrants? And does UPA practised by urban farmers of foreign origin contribute to the expansion of biodiversity? In both London and Lisbon, a significant proportion of the migrant population is involved in UPA. Patterns of social inclusion are quite city specific: urban farming communities from Cape Verde strengthen community bonds through their activity but this does not necessarily lead to better social integration within Portuguese society. In London, migrants of foreign origin become part of an integrated communitarism on an individual basis. Evidence gathered strongly suggests that urban farmers of foreign origin do contribute to broadening biodiversity. Final observations note to what extent these urban practices contribute to the Right to the City and thus if they are of an emancipatory and transformative nature.

An international movement for urban agriculture? (#journal)

Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Part 4

This article introduces, synthesises, and discusses four articles from four issues of the Journal 'City'. The author argues that while urban and peri-urban agriculture is emerging in almost every city in the world, seeing it as a coherent 'movement' is problematic as it varies so widely in its form, its motivation and its aims between countries and continents. It is also often unable to stop the increasing control of urban land by wealthy urban elites. Nevertheless, urban agriculture has a major role to play in achieving food security for the world's poor, and needs to be recognised as an international trend of rapidly growing importance. The author argues that the Transition Movement has played a key role in supporting some of these initiatives.