August 2010 – Policy Brief from the FAO Economic and Social Development Department

Towns and cities are growing rapidly in developing countries. This process is often accompanied by high levels of poverty and hunger, leading many urban dwellers to engage in farming activities to help satisfy their food needs. Policy makers need to recognize this reality and actively seize the opportunities offered by urban agriculture.

Hunger – a growing concern in urban areas
The recent spike of world hunger disproportionately affected the urban poor. As a large share of their disposable income is spent on food, the 2007-08 food price crisis was particularly hard on them. The urban poor also suffered from the consequences of last year’s global economic downturn, which reduced their employment opportunities and income.

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PARK(ing) Day Twin Cities 2009. Photo by Photo Troy Gallas.

Parking Day – September 17

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

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J-garden, Kitchen Garden Installations, Susapta Garden at Bank Colony, Bangalore.

J-garden, Kitchen Garden Installations

By Vinita
Citizen Matters
06 Sept. 2010

Excerpt:

Having understood the basic principles of urban farming, he started his own research and experimented with various models which has now taken shape as J-garden, a social enterprise. J-Garden provides kitchen garden installations and related equipment.

Over the last six months, Chandra has done eight installations for families in individual homes and apartments and one for a group of social engineers in a bank colony.

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