Building Resilient Cities – UA Magazine no. 22

UA Magazine is published two times a year by the Network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF), under the Cities Farming for the Future Programme, which is financed by DGIS, the Netherlands, and IDRC, Canada.

Issue 22

“Resilient cities are cities that can effectively operate and provide services under conditions of distress. Resilient cities can better absorb the type of shocks and stresses as identified above. Rather than focusing on vulnerability, a focus on resilience means putting emphasis on what can be done by a city or a community itself, building on existing natural, social, political, human, financial, and physical capital, while at the same time strengthening its capacities.

“Urban agriculture can play a role in building more resilient cities. Growing food in cities reduces the dependency on (rural) food supplies, which can easily be affected by disrupted transport, armed conflicts, droughts or flooding and increasing food prices.

Apart from enhancing food security and reducing the ecological footprint, urban agriculture can also play a role in city greening and water management. Green spaces contribute to economic (energy) savings, or controlling storm water flows.

“In this issue cases and experiences from countries such as Ecuador, China, Morocco and Portugal are discussed to show the potentials and restrictions of urban agriculture in building more resilient cities. The magazine addresses questions such as how urban agriculture can combat the negative impacts of rapidly rising food prices, how it can reduce a city’s ecological footprint and its role in adaptation to the effects of climate change, what should be the role of policies and institutions in the building of resilient cities.”

Contents:

Editorial

Urban Agriculture in Montevideo and Rosario: A response to crisis or a stable component of the urban landscape?

Interview with Crispim Moreira

Promoting Access to Food in Contagem, Brazil

An Update from New Orleans

Resilient Chinese Cities: Examples from Beijing and Shanghai

Adapting to Climate Change and Building Urban Resilience in Australia

Building the Resilience of Vulnerable Communities in Quito: Adapting local food systems to climate change

Sustainable Development of Megacities of Tomorrow: Green infrastructures for Casablanca, Morocco

Coping with Increasing Food Prices in Nakuru, Kenya: Urban school farming as a way to make school lunches affordable

The Role of Urban Agriculture in the Re-socialisation of Homeless People: An Experience in Juiz de Fora, Brazil

The Role of Urban Agriculture in Building Resilient Cities: Examples of building resilient neighbourhoods in London

The Elephant and the Castle ; towards a London Edible Landscape

Local Food System Develops Resiliency in Charlottesville

Beyond Food Security: Urban agriculture as a form of resilience in Vancouver, Canada

Carrot City: Designing for urban agriculture

Agricultural Biodiversity Strengthening Livelihoods in Periurban Hyderabad, India

Optimising Use of Water for Urban Agriculture: Responding to the challenge of growing water scarcity in Tunisia

Urban Agriculture and Resilience in Lisbon: The role of the municipal government

The complete issue can be read on-line here at the RUAF web site.