Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change - weADAPT

1 IntroductionCities have always been dependent on a variety of resources not only for their survival,but also to enable them to serve as places of innovation and civilisation. As those whoin the past laid siege to cities knew all too well, one of the most important of theseresources is food. Over the course of the last century cities have been supplied withtheir food from an increasingly wide range, indeed most Australian cities are nowsupplied with food from many different parts of the world as well as from different partsof Australia (Gaballa and Abraham 2008).In Australia, food security has not been a major political issue, but there is evidencethat in a relatively food secure country, some people do have limited access to the foodneeded for a healthy diet. Conservative estimates indicate that food insecurity inAustralia reaches at least 5% of the general population (Temple 2008). In moreurbanised areas of the country this rate could be higher (Nolan, Rikard-Bell et al.2006).Australia may be a ‘land of droughts and flooding rains’ and Australian food productionis highly dependent on the climate and its variability. Indeed, agriculture is one of thesectors of the economy most vulnerable to climate change (Padgham, 2009) andalmost all aspects of it are likely to be impacted: from the plants and animals beingcultivated, the amount and quality of the product, which areas can be farmed, whichsoil types are preferred, the management systems and technologies used, input costs,product prices and natural resource management (PMSEIC, 2010: p. 12).Consequently, food production in Australia is likely to be significantly affected byclimate change and recent estimates suggest that ‘climate change is predicted toreduce food production in Australia by over 15%’ (PMSEIC, 2010: p. 28). In addition tothese direct impacts on food production, climate change may also impact wider foodsystems through market change, increased food prices and disruptions to supply chaininfrastructure (Gregory et al., 2005).In response to actual and anticipated threats to the supply of food to cities, and in lightof emerging threats from climate change, and other external crises peak, politicalinstability, oil, financial crises), attention has focussed in recent years on the potentialto supply a greater proportion of the food requirements of cities by producing,processing and marketing more food locally, either within or close by the city inquestion. In this sense urban food security and urban agriculture have been seen asincreasingly and inextricably connected.It is increasingly recognised that a variety of practices that exist under the broadheading of ‘urban agriculture’ can make small but significant contributions to ensuringmore secure food supplies for urban Australians. These practices range from backyardand rooftop gardening, through community gardening and composting schemes, to theplanting of edible landscapes and the establishment of new food retailing opportunities.Around many cities peri-urban areas have also offered significant opportunities formore localised food production and processing, although these are increasinglycompromised by the pressures of urbanisation. There are also significant barriers tothe development and wider application of these practices. While some of these barriersUrban food security, urban resilience and climate change 101