Title : Exploring the future of Europe's sustainable urban agriculture initiatives | trends and transformative narratives
Abstract:
Europe's rural and urban areas are facing growing problems due to climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources and growing alienation between urban and rural dwellers. These trends threaten the sustainability of urban development and food systems.
At the same time, various forms of urban agriculture are developing in many European cities, such as community and rooftop gardens or vertical farming projects. Urban agriculture (UA) can thus become an effective response to various urban challenges such as food security, preservation of green spaces and community development. The integration of urban agriculture into urban environments opens up opportunities to support sustainable urban development and make food systems more resilient. However, to leverage those potentials, it is necessary to understand the current and future developments and challenges related to UA in order to leverage the benefits of these initiatives for a more sustainable future.
In our study, we identify trends and challenges related to urban agriculture (UA) in urban environments. Social, technical, environmental, economic and political trends that influence future UA projects are analyzed and prioritized for their relevance as key drivers, challenges and opportunities for UA in city contexts.
In a participatory process, foresight analysis, scenario development and prototyping of new forms of urban agriculture will then help to identify future potential, further develop possible formats and make urban agriculture sustainable in different urban contexts as part of the European project FoodCityBoost. The project focuses on these developments by investigating the effects of urban agriculture and providing knowledge for practitioners and policy makers to promote and disseminate the sustainable development of urban agriculture. 100 stakeholders from six case studies are working together, using a living lab-based approach. This will allow learning from regions and cities across Europe where urban agriculture is already thriving and supported by regional policy.
What will audience learn from your presentation?
- Why is it important to understand current and future developments and challenges related to urban agriculture for a more sustainable future?
- How does the participatory process of foresight analysis, scenario development, and prototyping contribute to identifying future potential and making UA sustainable in different urban contexts?
- What are the social, technical, environmental, economic, and political trends that influence future UA projects and what are the challenges faced by Europe's rural and urban areas?
- How can urban agriculture be a response to urban challenges such as food security, green space preservation, and community development?
