Urban Food Actions Platform

Food production depends and impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity, with spillover effects going beyond food. Urban and peri-urban agriculture and food processing can contribute to improving the resilience of territories in the face of climate change, natural disasters and disrupted suppy chains. Urban food consumption can also influence where and how food is produced. 

How can you optimize agriculture production while managing ecosystem services and biodiversity and improving resilience to climate change? Numerous examples are presented, explaining how to implement sustainable urban and peri-urban food production and processing; how these can mitigate the heat island effect, prevent floods, reduce the energy needed for cooling and heating buildings, improve social inclusion, (indirectly) raise awareness on combating food waste, or contribute to better access to healthy, diversified and fresh products. Resources on Urban and Peri-Urban Forestry are also available.

 

Related Resources

Food production and ecosystem management - Reports & Case Studies
In 2002, the Municipality of Quito launched the Participatory Urban Agriculture Program (AGRUPAR), which supports the production of organic food at household level for self-consumption and selling. The selling is enhanced by carrying out alternative local marketing projects called “bioferias”. The programme has strong potential in terms of food producers’...
Ecuador (Latin America and the Caribbean)
2018 - FAO, EStà, Municipality of Quito
Food production and ecosystem management - Reports & Case Studies
In 2015, Pittsburgh City Council gave its residents the right to produce the food they needed through the updating of its zoning code. As a consequence of this shift, the application process to benefit from public vacant land for farming has been facilitated.
United States of America (North America)
2018 - FAO, EStà, City of Pittsburgh
Food production and ecosystem management - Reports & Case Studies
Nantes territorial food project identified land plots to be converted into farming areas. The Municipality along with a multi-stakeholder group identified the resources and infrastructure needed and implemented new farming activities on 137 sites across 1 900 ha within five years.
France (Europe)
2018 - FAO, EStà, Municipality of Nantes
Food production and ecosystem management - Reports & Case Studies
The Food Resilience Unit of the Municipality of Johannesburg supports the access to land for emerging farmers within larger farms. The so called “food empowerment zones” aim at empowering communities to grow their own food, stimulating local economic development and facilitating access to markets.
South Africa (Africa)
2018 - FAO, EStà, City of Johannesburg
Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Guidelines
An analysis of diverse options for marketing products from agroecology The purpose of this study is to explore whether and how products from agroecological production systems are being valued in markets. The study is based on a meta-analysis of 12 case studies (Benin, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,...
(Global coverage)
2018 - Loconto, A.; Jimenez, A.; Vandecandelaere, E.