Forthcoming (mid/late February 2010) – Special issue: Urban agriculture: Diverse Activities and Benefits for City Society (Craig Pearson)

Editor in Chief: Jules Pretty OBE, University of Essex, UK
The International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability (IJAS) is a cross-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing the understanding of sustainability in agricultural and food systems

Most of us live in cities. These are becoming increasingly complex and removed from broad-scale agriculture. Yet within cities there are many examples of greenspaces and local food production that bring multiple benefits that often go unnoticed. This book presents a collection of the latest thinking on the multiple dimensions of sustainable greenspace and food production within cities. It describes the diversity of “urban agriculture” and seeks a balanced representation between the biophysical and social : agriculturists, environmental scientists and social scientists: planners, landscape architects and community development specialists dealing with issues such as resource use, aesthetics and social cohesion. It deals with urban agriculture across scales -from indoor plants to farm-scale filtration of greywater – although it does not include greenhouse production.

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Photo by Jared Braiterman PhD

Reported by Jared Braiterman PhD
in Tokyo Green

I visited Odakyu’s Agris Seijo rental farm in Seijogakuenmae in Setagaya and was prepared to be charmed by a community vegetable farm built by a rail company above their tracks. Three years ago, the Odakyu corporation rebuilt the station, undergrounded the railway, and used some of the new land to promote urban farming. But I left feeling somewhat strange that reclaimed land could be gated and restricted. Although it is the rail company’s property, I think they missed a huge opportunity to create a great space for the neighborhood.

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