1st International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability
9 - 11 October, 2018
New Forest, UK Introduction
The aim of the Conference is to review and discuss ways in which urban agriculture can contribute to achieving sustainable cities.
As urban populations continue to increase it is essential to consider ways of reducing their impact in terms of use of natural resources, waste production and climate change.
The increasing number of people in cities requires new strategies to supply the necessary food with limited provision of land and decreasing resources. This will become more challenging unless innovative solutions for growing and distributing food in urban environments are considered.
The scale of modern food production has created and exacerbated many vulnerabilities and the feeding of cities is now infinitely more complex. As such the food system cannot be considered secure, ethical or sustainable.
In the last few years, there has been a rapid expansion in initiatives and projects exploring innovative methods and processes for sustainable food production. The majority of these projects are focused on providing alternative models that shift the power back from the global food system to communities and farmers improving social cohesion, health and wellbeing. It is therefore not surprising that more people are looking towards urban farming initiatives as a potential solution.
These initiatives have demonstrated that urban agriculture has the potential to transform our living environment towards ecologically sustainable and healthy cities. Urban agriculture can also contribute to energy, natural resources, land and water savings, ecological diversity and urban management cost reductions.
The impact urban agriculture can have on the shape and form of our cities has never been fully addressed. How cities embed these new approaches and initiatives, as part of new urban developments and a city regeneration strategy is critical.
The Urban Agriculture conference will address these challenges and search for new solutions.
Conference Topics
The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Urban Agriculture. Papers on other subjects related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.
Development and Planning
Urban metabolism
History of urban agriculture
Integrated urbanism
Sustainable land use
Urban and peri-urban enterprises
Green infrastructures and sustainable urbanism
Continuous productive urban landscaping
City food chains
Food sovereignty
Urban distribution and processing systems
Market gardens
Sustainable urban drainage
Water resources and irrigation systems
Sustainable food systems
Organic farming
Food security
Urban Farms
Patchwork farms
Pop-up farms
Roof top farms
Green roofs
Vertical greening and farms
Hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics
Hydrogardens
Composting in cities
Allotment systems
Permaculture and agricultural forestry
Urban animal farms and bee-keeping
Greenhouses
Food networks
Socio-Economic Aspects
Community supported agriculture
Community cohesion and job creation
Community gardens
Communities as co-producers
School and young urban farmers
Education and training
Innovation and Benefits
Closed loops systems
Transport and distribution
Waste food recovery and recycling
Renewable energy resources
Healthy cities
Care farming
Ecological water systems
Biofuel production in cities
Quality of streets and urban environment
Reduction of Urban Heat Island
Farm to fork
Eco-cities and eco-villaging
Show cities
Air pollution reductions
Organic farming
