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Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change - weADAPT

Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change - weADAPT

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lines of supply from often rural places of production to <strong>urban</strong> places of consumption,greater attention is now also being paid to the production of <strong>food</strong> within <strong>urban</strong> areas.The production of <strong>food</strong> within <strong>urban</strong> areas is an important component of <strong>urban</strong>agriculture, along with systems of <strong>food</strong> processing, distribution <strong>and</strong> sale. Themanagement of waste from these processes is also an important element in this broadconception of <strong>urban</strong> agriculture.There is scope, therefore, for <strong>urban</strong> agriculture to make an important contribution to<strong>urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>. This can in turn help build <strong>urban</strong> <strong>resilience</strong> <strong>and</strong> sustainable formsof <strong>urban</strong> life. However, to maximise its contribution <strong>and</strong> impact, <strong>urban</strong> agriculture mustbe integrated into broader <strong>food</strong> systems <strong>and</strong> into more comprehensive programs ofmetropolitan planning for <strong>resilience</strong> <strong>and</strong> sustainability. But <strong>food</strong> policy is rarelyconnected with other policy fields <strong>and</strong> if it is to become more influential it must becomemore integrated with other elements of <strong>urban</strong> policy.While the <strong>urban</strong> poor clearly experience all too intensely the effects of <strong>food</strong> in<strong>security</strong><strong>and</strong> have limited means to overcome these effects, <strong>food</strong> in<strong>security</strong> affects all <strong>urban</strong>residents to some extent. While relatively wealthy <strong>urban</strong> residents may be better ablethan their poorer neighbours to afford to buy healthy <strong>and</strong> nutritious <strong>food</strong> they willnevertheless be similarly affected by major disruptions to <strong>urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> supplies.Anticipated <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong> is likely to lead to more extreme weather events which arethe main source of these major disruptions to <strong>urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> supplies. Moreover, theviability <strong>and</strong> productivity of existing <strong>food</strong> production systems is also likely to beseriously compromised by local manifestations of <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>.<strong>Urban</strong> agriculture has the potential, therefore, to contribute to the adaptations that allcities are engaged in if they are to be more resilient in the face a variety of existentialthreats, including <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>. Insofar as it represents a form of localised <strong>food</strong>production <strong>and</strong> consumption that requires fewer energy inputs than more spatiallyextensive <strong>and</strong> energy intensive forms, it also has the potential to help mitigate thefactors causing <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>.While there are few (if any) studies to date that have attempted quantify the potential of<strong>urban</strong> agriculture to make cities more <strong>food</strong> secure, there are many which catalogue itssocial <strong>and</strong> community benefits. These include the development of stronger socialconnections in <strong>urban</strong> communities, increased awareness of the benefits of fresh fruit<strong>and</strong> vegetables <strong>and</strong> locally produced <strong>food</strong> in a healthy diet, greater appreciation of thesources of <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> of the connections between processes of <strong>food</strong> preparation <strong>and</strong><strong>food</strong> quality. <strong>Urban</strong> agriculture also has the potential to re-establish connectionsbetween <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> place that were once common in Australian cities, but which have toa great extent withered over the last four decades. All of these social impacts may beas significant as the nutritional benefits of <strong>urban</strong> agriculture.The increasingly complex systems of regulation that operate within Australian cities,especially those relating to l<strong>and</strong> use planning, health <strong>and</strong> safety <strong>and</strong> the operation ofsmall businesses, often serve to thwart attempts to develop <strong>and</strong> grow new forms of<strong>urban</strong> agriculture. While this may not be the intention of such regulatory regimes, theycan nevertheless inhibit unnecessarily these new enterprises.<strong>Urban</strong> agriculture represents, therefore, an important opportunity for cities to adapt inthe face of <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong>. It is unlikely that the major cities of Australia will everbecome completely self-sufficient in <strong>food</strong>, but through greater support for <strong>urban</strong>agriculture they are likely to become more <strong>food</strong> secure. This in turn will contribute tothe overall <strong>resilience</strong> of Australian cities <strong>and</strong> to their sustainable growth in the future.<strong>Urban</strong> <strong>food</strong> <strong>security</strong>, <strong>urban</strong> <strong>resilience</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>climate</strong> <strong>change</strong> 99

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