Dossier
Urban agriculture
In 2050, the world population will grow to 10 billion people. More than half of the population already lives in the city and this is only expected to increase. This increases the pressure on land and space, increases the need for livable structures and increases the demand for locally produced food. Urban agriculture is a solution to achieve a sustainable and liveable city and possibly reduce the urban footprint.
What is urban agriculture (urban farming)?
Urban agriculture (or urban farming) is the production of food in and around the city. This can vary from balcony or roof gardens in the city center to allotments and professional urban food production and food processing on the outskirts of the city. Each form of urban agriculture deserves its own place in the city and can contribute to a sustainable and liveable city and possibly reduce the urban footprint.
What are the benefits of urban agriculture?
More than half of the world's population lives in cities. This increases the pressure on land and space, increases the need for livable structures and increases the demand for locally produced food. City and countryside are becoming increasingly intertwined. Wageningen University & Research sees opportunities for new forms of agriculture with a natural place in and around the city. Beyond the function of food production, urban farming can link local food and energy production in the city to social goals, such as relaxation, care or educational opportunities.
The Wageningen approach for urban agriculture
- Designing and researching new concepts for urban land use
- Developing concepts into tangible initiatives with stakeholders
- Connecting communities, public organisations and business owners
- Creating space for urban agriculture in spatial planning and legal structures
- Evaluating, learning and advise policy makers and business partners
News on urban agriculture:
Projects on urban farming:
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The Feeding City
- The Feeding City — a collaborative research programme between the AMS Institute, municipality of Almere, province of Flevoland and Aeres University of Applied Sciences — is embedded on the Flevo Campus, thus facilitating opportunities for research, education and entrepreneurship relating to the ‘Food and the City’ theme. The programme objective is to innovate the urban food system by working closely with the business community, institutions and residents from the city and the surrounding region. -
COcreating LANdscape based aDaptation of urban regions enhancing biodivERsity (Het Ronde Landschap)
- Cities face major challenges such as increasing population pressure, energy transition, urban densification, the prevention of flooding and heat stress and the decline of biodiversity. The rural area also has its challenges. Flooding or water shortages cause problems in agriculture and changing temperatures and water availability affect biodiversity. There is also the need to use primary sources more circularly by closing cycles. The landscape and nature offer all kinds of solutions that can help to effectively and sustainably meet these challenges. -
The Urban Nexus of the Environmental Flows of Water, Energy and Food
- Cities are becoming increasingly more populated and rapid urbanization is taking place all around the world. This requires larger supplies of input and output resources to sustain human and urban needs. Water, Energy and Food (WEF) have long been acknowledged as essential inputs to feed cities. -
Successful implementation of green urban development (SIGS)
- Successful Implementation of Green Urban Development (Dutch acronym: SIGS) is a project committed to improving the implementation of functional vegetation in urban development and expansion projects. Its goal is to provide urban professionals with the knowledge needed to enhance the integration of vegetation in urban development processes. -
Farming for Nature
- Farming for Nature envisions integration of agriculture and ecology by means of an extensive farming system. Manure is turned into a scarce resource on the farm, drainage is reduced and landscape elements are brought back. The farmer is compensated financially on the basis of a long-term agreement. This concept has been tried out on a dairy farm in the Biesland polder (province of Zuid-Holland) and on two sheep farms and a farm with suckler cows on the Twickel estate (province of Overijssel).