Edmondson, J., Cunningham, H. orcid.org/0000-0001-5901-5483, Densley Tingley, D. et al. (11 more authors) (2020) The hidden potential of urban horticulture. Nature Food, 1. pp. 155-159.
Abstract
Urban areas offer considerable potential for horticultural food production, but questions remain about the availability of space to expand urban horticulture and how to sustainably integrate it into the existing urban fabric. We explore this through a case study which shows that, for a UK city, the space potentially available equates to more than four times the current per capita footprint of commercial horticulture. Results indicate that there is more than enough urban land available within the city to meet the fruit and vegetable requirements of its population. Building on this case study, we also propose a generic conceptual framework that identifies key scientific, engineering and socio-economic challenges to, and opportunities for, the realization of untapped urban horticultural potential.
Food insecurity is a growing issue in the Global North, where the majority of the population (sometimes in excess of 80%) lives in urban areas. Food production in urban areas, particularly horticultural production, is increasingly recognized at all levels of governance, from local to transnational, as an important contributor to food security. Despite this recognition, there have been few attempts to analyse the feasibility of urban horticulture (UH) in terms of the space available within the urban fabric.
We explore this issue in a case study city in the United Kingdom using a geographic information system (GIS) to map green infrastructure now used for UH along with other green infrastructure (such as parks, gardens, roadside verges and woodland) and grey infrastructure (buildings, for example) that has the potential to form part of an expanding UH system. We then develop a conceptual framework that addresses the scientific, practical engineering, knowledge, economic and socio-cultural factors that underpin sustainable UH delivery in the Global North. Within this framework, we consider two different forms of UH: soil-based horticulture (SBH) within green infrastructure and controlled environment horticulture (CEH) on flat roofs within grey infrastructure.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Springer Nature. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Civil and Structural Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Computer Science (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Engineering and Physical Science Research Council EP/N030095/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 Mar 2020 12:44 |
Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2020 12:44 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Nature |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s43016-020-0045-6 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:157303 |