Status and Challenges for Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Policy Making, Planning and Design

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the world's urban population is expected to double from 3.3 billion in 2007 to 6.4 billion by 2050, and it is predicted that by 2030 60% of the world's population will live in cities. As cities expand, so do the food needs of urban populations, especially families. The urbanization process in many developing countries goes hand-in-hand with increasing urban poverty and growing food insecurity and malnutrition, especially for the urban poor. Changes in climate add to the challenges faced by cities and the urban poor. Many cities are at risk of becoming "disaster traps", either through the direct effects of floods, hurricanes, or rising sea levels, or through severe food supply problems due to droughts, hailstorms or frosts that affect agricultural production in their hinterlands - and thus the urban food markets. These are urgent and pressing challenges demanding an equally urgent and adequate response from city and national authorities as well as international support organizations. Urban policies, planning and design must incorporate food security considerations and focus on building cities that are more resilient to crises. Urban and periurban agriculture will have to feature prominently in urban food security, economic development, land use and climate change strategies and action plans. Several countries and local governments have already taken such initiatives, but in many other countries and cities, new initiatives are needed. This paper will provide a state-of-the-art overview of current national and local policies and experiences in integrating urban and peri-urban agriculture in policy making, planning and design. It will also highlight prospects and challenges that will require attention in future efforts to improve on or upscale these experiences to other cities and countries.