ABSTRACT

Today, 20 percent of the global food supply relies on urban agriculture: social-ecological systems shaped by both human and non-human interactions. This book shows how urban agroecologists measure flora and fauna that underpin the ecological dynamics of these systems, and how people manage and benefit from these systems. It explains how the sociopolitical landscape in which these systems are embedded can in turn shape the social, ecological, political, and economic dynamics within them. Synthesizing interdisciplinary approaches in urban agroecology in the natural and social sciences, the book explores methodologies and new directions in research that can be adopted by scholars and practitioners alike.

With contributions from researchers utilizing both social and natural science approaches, Urban Agroecology describes the current social-environmental understandings of the science, the movement and the practices in urban agroecology. By investigating the role of agroecology in cities, the book calls for the creation of spaces for food to be sustainably grown in urban spaces: an Urban Agriculture (UA) movement. Essential reading for graduate students, practitioners, policy makers and researchers, this book charts the course for accelerating this movement.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

The Role of Agroecology in Cities
ByMonika Egerer, Hamutahl Cohen

chapter 1|34 pages

An Expanded Scope of Biodiversity in Urban Agriculture, with Implications for Conservation

BySacha K. Heath, Nina S. Fogel, Jennifer C. Mullikin, Trey Hull

chapter 2|28 pages

Complex Ecological Interactions and Ecosystem Services in Urban Agroecosystems

ByStacy M Philpott, Shalene Jha, Azucena Lucatero, Monika Egerer, Heidi Liere

chapter 3|16 pages

Climate Factors and Climate Change in Urban Agroecosystems

ByMonika Egerer

chapter 4|32 pages

Restoring Soil and Supporting Food Sovereignty across Urban–Rural Landscapes: An Interdisciplinary Perspective

ByColeman Rainey, Monika Egerer, Dustin Herrmann, Timothy Bowles

chapter 5|16 pages

Urban Foraging: Where Cultural Knowledge and Local Biodiversity Meet

ByLeonie K Fischer, Jonah Landor-Yamagata, Ingo Kowarik

chapter 6|12 pages

Agroecology as Public Health: The Island Example of Tasmania

ByPauline Marsh

chapter 7|16 pages

From Individual Seeds to Collective Harvests: Urban Agroecology as Political Action

ByHelda Morales, Bárbara Lazcano, Ana García

chapter 9|20 pages

Co-Producing Agro-Food Policies for Urban Environments: Toward Agroecology-Based Local Agri-food Systems

ByDaniel López-García, Manuel González de Molina

chapter 10|20 pages

Holistic Pedagogies for Social Change: Reflections from an Urban Agroecology Farmer Training

ByAna Galvis Martinez, Brooke Porter, Paul Rogé, Leah Atwood, Natalia Pinzón Jiménez

chapter 11|18 pages

Growing Together: Participatory Approaches in Urban Agriculture Extension

ByLucy O. Diekmann, Marcia R. Ostrom

chapter 12|28 pages

How to Study the Ecology of Food in the City: An Overview of Natural Science Methodologies

ByTheresa Wei Ying Ong, Gordon Fitch

chapter 13|24 pages

Navigating Urban Agroecological Research with the Social Sciences

ByEvan Bowness, Jennifer A. Nicklay, Alex Liebman, Kirsten Valentine Cadieux, Renata Blumberg

chapter 14|22 pages

Agroecological Transformations in Urban Contexts: Transdisciplinary Research Frameworks and Participatory Approaches in Burlington, Vermont

ByMartha Caswell, V. Ernesto Méndez, María A. Juncos-Gautier, Stephanie E. Hurley, Rachelle K. Gould, Denyse Márquez Sánchez, Storm Lewis

chapter 15|14 pages

Multidimensional Challenges in Urban Agricultural Research

ByJoshua Earl Arnold, Alana Bowen Siegner