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(Created page with "=Montpellier= ==Montpellier’s Foodscapes== https://www.foodscapes.fr/en Already approached questions (not all of these issues are necessarily relevant to sustainable food planning) : # foodscapes from the residents viewpoints # relationships between foodscapes and residents spatial supply practices # community gardens and their impact on different lifestyle sustainability aspects # impacts of the development of online food shopping # relationships between foodscapes...")
 
 
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=Montpellier=


==Montpellier’s Foodscapes==  
= Montpellier « L’agriparc des Bouisses » Living Lab /France=
==Periurban agricultural park==
''Indicated for French speaking students (as many actors or resources around this project only speak French or are only published in French).''
An agriparc is an agricultural park included in the urban space, combining different functions around agriculture. It is a landscaped place of production, marketing in short circuit, a refuge for fauna and flora, but also a place of green leisure open to all. Subjected to intense urbanization and heavy automobile traffic, the inhabitants of the western sector of Montpellier have suffered a degradation of their quality of life and their environment. With the Agriparc des Bouisses project, the ambition is both to create a new place of attraction for the entire sector, and to offer the inhabitants a quality landscape and natural area.
An innovative participatory approach has been launched with the inhabitants so that they can contribute to the agriparc project (on which the teams of landscape designers, urban planners and urban agriculture specialists will work).


https://www.foodscapes.fr/en
==Assignment questions for local students==
Already approached questions (not all of these issues are necessarily relevant to sustainable food planning) :
'''Governance/public consultation'''
# foodscapes from the residents viewpoints
* What lessons can be learned from the public consultation process?
# relationships between foodscapes and residents spatial supply practices
* What recommendations to make for the next process?
# community gardens and their impact on different lifestyle sustainability aspects
* How to ensure that the public's opinions are taken into account during the project?
# impacts of the development of online food shopping
# relationships between foodscapes and food behaviors


We can extend the study of one question in particular, or open up a new one, by looking at the agricultural land that the city owns and asking, for example, "what impact does maintaining productive land have in the metropolis of Montpellier?"
'''Management of the agriparc'''
* How to connect this agriparc to the city, ensuring that it is inclusive of all populations?
* How to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?


'''Connections'''
* How to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?
* How to relate this agriparc to a network of various agriparcs on the territory of the metropolitan area? Around which type of activities?


L’AgriParc des Bouisses
==Assignment questions for remote students==
An agriparc is an agricultural park included in the urban space, combining different functions around agriculture. It is a landscaped place of production, of marketing in short circuit but also a place of green leisure open to all, including for example playgrounds for children, a health course...
* How to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?
Subjected to intense urbanization and heavy automobile traffic, the inhabitants of the western sector of Montpellier have suffered a degradation of their quality of life and their environment.
* How to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?
With the Agriparc des Bouisses project, the ambition is both to create a new place of attraction for the entire sector, and to offer the inhabitants a quality landscape and natural area.
(Answering those two questions with inputs from other experiences elsewhere - that you know, by inquiring on local case studies, or by literature)
An innovative participatory approach has been launched with the inhabitants so that they can contribute to the agriparc project on which the teams of landscape designers, urban planners and urban agriculture specialists will work.
* Building a typology of urban agriparcs, based on literature.
The project consists of an agroforestry space, a recreational and resource centre for the inhabitants of the Metropolis, respectful of the ecological frameworks and a refuge for fauna and flora.


Mastering French to a certain extent is a preference since much of the references and stakeholder responses will be in French, a comparative case study of other countries can of course be carried out in English.


=Warsaw “MOST Urban Farm” Living Lab/Poland=
==Production and collaboration with local farmers==
Short video presentation, Short pdf description 2023-01_MOST_LL_en, Extended description
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FZvY1t1ptUOfIXTSJ8XrFWJecCt6WlrU/view?usp=sharing


The Warsaw Urban Farm initiative was born out of the need to prepare the city for the upcoming effects of the environmental and food crises. Our goal is to create a local center for agro-ecological education and food production, and to develop and network future leaders in the field of sustainable food planning to contribute locally to food security and a healthier environment.
To strengthen the city's resilience, we want to establish Warsaw's first farm (MOST), which will also be an incubator for further initiatives in the area of sustainable food system of Warsaw and surrounding suburban and rural areas.


Assignment questions for local students:
==Assignment questions for the local students==
Governance/public consultation
* In addition to finances, what are the potential benefits of establishing the MOST farm in the selected location?
What lessons can be learned from the public consultation process?
(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; analysis of spatial planning documents; field trip; spatial analysis; identifying key partners and stakeholders; identifying main problems and challenges faced by farmers operating in the selected area; SWOT analysis for the Warsaw agriculture of the upper Vistula)
What recommendations to make for the next process?
* What should be an economic model of the MOST farm?
how to ensure that the public's opinions are taken into account during the project?
(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trip; identifying main problems and challenges faced by farmers operating in the selected area; SWOT analysis for the Warsaw agriculture of the upper Vistula, developing an economic model )
* Who are the stakeholders (municipality, neighbor community, involved institutions, and farmers) and what are their needs and influence?
(methods: field trip; analysis of land ownership; identifying key partners and stakeholders; mapping all actors and their needs and power; define potential partnerships and alliances)
* What is the attitude of local farmers towards urban agriculture initiatives, particularly MOST?
(methods: field trip; mapping local farmers; interviews and questionnaires; designing a food hub)
* What edible plants are the best to cultivate in MOST farm? Considering climate factors and socio-economic factors (production feasibility, retail).
(methods: literature review; field trip; consultation with an expert)
* What is the Warsaw municipality's attitude toward biodiversity? Is it only a cost of maintaining vacant lands or a food production opportunity?
(methods: analysis of Municipality planning documents; interviews and questionnaires)
* What are the regional rituals associated with agriculture and how to transfer them to an urban context?
(methods: literature review; field trip; mapping local farmers; interviews and questionnaires; developing a proposal for an urban harvest celebration)


Management of the agriparc
==Assignment questions for the remote students==
how to connect this agriparc to the city, ensuring that it is inclusive of all populations?
* What should the coop urban farm include in its programme? What are the potential benefits (social, economic, environmental, others), and how to increase them?
how to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?
(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trips)
* What are the models of coop urban farms around the world? (Economic models, inner organization structures).
(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trips)
* What are the city's policies towards vacant lands considering its biodiversity and food production opportunities?
(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; analysis of Municipality planning documents; interviews and questionnaires)


Connections
=Ghent AGROECOLOGICAL URBANISM FUTURE HERITAGE Living Lab/ Belgium=
how to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?
==Leveraging publicly owned farmland for an agroecological transition in the peri-urban fringe of Ghent==
how to relate this agriparc to a network of various agriparcs on the territory of the metropolitan area? around which type of activities ?
Assignment questions for remote students:


how to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?
The urban food policy of the City of Ghent, Gent en Garde, has been the subject of international attention including several prestigious prizes. At the same time the systematic sale of public farmland in the peri-urban fringe of Ghent has alienated new and traditional farmers who are upset about the systematic loss of farmland. Farmers are rapidly disappearing from the peri urban fringe, and new farmers face great difficulty to establish themselves.
how to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?
Within De Stadsacademie we want to enter in a dialogue with parties that could help to articulate a shared agenda regarding the way in which the public ownership of farmland could be leveraged to accelerate an agroecological food transition.
(answering those two questions with inputs from other experiences elsewhere - that you know, by inquiring on local case studies, or by literature)
building a typology of urban agriparcs, based on literature


Warsaw
==Assignment questions for remote student==
* Literature review on public land management for an Agroecological Urbanism.
* What are the main areas of connection between municipal food policies and public farmland management?
* What are the key challenges or obstacles to integrating public farmland management within urban food policy?
* What are the key points of connection or areas of policy-making that have been identified by local or regional authorities to forge a better connection between farmland management and food system transition objectives?


What is the general theme of the living lab?
* Documentation, and discussion of existing practices connecting food policy and public land management
* Examples of projects, plans or initiatives operating within the intersection between strategies of environmental land management (in light of nature conservation, green-blue infrastructure, water management, etc) and food policy initiatives. We are particularly interested in strategies focussed on the harvesting of drinking water in farming areas (i.e. initiatives by ‘Eau de Paris’).
* Examples around public catering within public institutes (schools, hospitals, care facilities…) that make a direct connection between public food provisioning, agroecological farmers, and land management.
* Examples of neighborhood-based initiatives around food support and place-based solidarity in connection with agroecological farmers. We are particularly interested in community kitchen initiatives building a food sovereignty agenda together with agroecological producers.
* Examples of investment in land readjustment and development of (new) collective farmers operating infrastructure in light of an agroecological transition and the activation of peri-urban farmland. We are particularly interested in initiatives working on nutrient cycling, biomass harvesting in light of composting, and soil remediation initiatives (on and off the farm).


MOST - Warsaw Urban Farm - production and collaboration with local farmers
=Madrid Agroecologico Living Lab/ Spain=
The Living Lab is conceived as a space of interaction with the platform Madrid Agroecologico, to provide support to make progress in one of their current main goals: consolidate the precarious network of agroecological farmers in the peri-urban area. . In the last assembly, Madrid Agroecológico identified the need to optimize food fluxes (and transport) to improve the feasibility of farmers.It was set as a priority action for 2023 and request for support to draw a detailed análisis of food flows and an ecobalance to re-define distribution and logistic processes.
A second goal of the LL is to check the possibilities to adapt the concept of "agroecological biodistrict" to one of Madrid’s districts and an associated region, revisiting current nodes of production and consumption in order to expand.


Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1m7p8yf3m6NTqWwhltN8dITUo6Xvvd1_b8l-Xyfz8zYA/edit?usp=sharing
==Assignment questions for remote students==
* What can be learned from agri-food cluster development to be applied to small scale and scattered agroecological farms?
* Examples and good practices on food hubs or collective facilities adapted to small scale farmers 
* Examples and good practices to upscale agroecology from the farm to the landscape. Are alternative food networks and agroecological farmers recognisable in the landscape? and in the urban scene?
* Comparison of an alternative food network with the “standard” food chain, in which ways do the AFN have better performance?
* Which planning tools can be activated to address the needs of small agroecological farmers ?


Research questions:
=Bucharest “Buruiană Community garden” Living Lab/Romania=
Research questions for the internal students:
==A community garden in the peri-urban area of Bucharest==
In addition to financial, what are the potential benefits of establishing the MOST farm in the selected location?
Who are stakeholders (municipality, neighbor community, involved institutions, farmers) and what are their needs and influence?
What is the attitude of local farmers towards urban agriculture initiatives, particularly MOST?
What edible plants are the best to cultivate in MOST farm? Considering climate factors and socio-economic factors (production feasibility, retail).
What is the Warsaw municipality's attitude toward biodiversity? Is it only a cost of maintaining vacant lands or a food production opportunity?
What are the regional rituals associated with agriculture and how to transfer them to urban context?
2. Research questions for the external students:
What should the coop urban farm include in its programme? What are the potential benefits (social, economic, environmental, others) and how to increase them?
What are the models of coop urban farms around the world? (economic models, inner organization structures).
How does climate change affect what can be grown in the city (in Poland or other countries)?
What factors should be consider planning crops in an urban farm?
What are the city's policies towards vacant lands considering its biodiversity and food production opportunities?
What are the regional rituals and events around the world associated with agriculture and how to transfer them to urban context?


Idea
The Buruiană community garden is a bottom-up initiative of a group of young people who want to lead a sustainable lifestyle. It was funded in 2021 and the aim is to host a space for growing food, education and socialisation following principles of regenerative agriculture and sustainable practices. Members have access to the community garden and/or allotment gardens inside the 9000 sqm plot, located next to a river and accessible by car.
MOST is an urban farm where organic fruits and vegetables are grown together with city residents and for residents. MOST is a place where everyone can get involved and have access to healthy, local food. MOST is a place that produces food in an innovative way using the latest environmentally-oriented farming techniques. MOST is part of the transformation of the city's food system in a time of climate crisis. MOST bridges different realities: urban and rural, urban entrepreneurship and agricultural practice, production spaces and education, volunteerism and economic participation. MOST is oriented toward a biocentric future - a close and harmonious relationship between the city and nature.  
Fig. . Aerial view of Buruiană garden. Source: https://www.facebook.com/gradinaburuiana


==Assignment questions for local students==
'''Concerning the general topic:'''
* What are good practice models for community gardens in the peri-urban area of a big city in the context of city inhabitants starting to learn about the existence and benefits of urban agriculture, and locals still practising agriculture in an individual and specific traditional manner?
* Can urban agriculture be considered a leisure or educational activity for city inhabitants?
* Is the eastern european and post-socialist context appropriate for the development of urban agriculture in the form of community gardens?
* Can urban agriculture and community gardens encourage people to lead a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle? 
* What laws and regulations can encourage the development of urban agriculture and community gardens?


What do we want to do?
'''Addressing the interest of local people:'''
We want to create the first Warsaw cooperative urban farm operating in the following areas:  
* Can community gardens be attractive for locals who mostly practise agriculture in their own private gardens? Can community gardens function as a space where exchange of knowledge between generations can take place, learning both from traditional local practices in the peri-urban areas and from innovative gardening techniques like permaculture? Can permaculture revive older traditional practices? 
food cultivation;
* Can community gardens address unemployment and provide training for employment in agriculture?
food hub (distrubution point for local farmers);
recreation space;
education and innovation;
economic participation;
green jobs.
MOST's main activity is cultivation. First, cultivation in a formula social and public, under the guidance of gardeners and farmers, in the form of workshops and other activities aimed at people who want to work, learn about and maintain contact with nature. Here we see a wide field of cooperation with residents of the nearest neighborhood but also public institutions - kindergartens, schools, senior citizen clubs, community centers. 


'''Addressing the challenges of the community garden:'''
* What financial model is most suitable and ethically appropriate for funding community gardens in a sustainable, inclusive way?
* Can vulnerable categories like elderly, children and people with disabilities be integrated in activities and projects in the community garden? What are those activities? Is there a possibility of obtaining funding for these activities?
* What events and activities can be hosted to attract participants, new members and locals?


Secondly, cultivation oriented to the production and distribution of crops. MOST is to provide fresh, organic and local vegetables to the residents of Warsaw. Support in developing the production part of the farm is ready to to be undertaken by WULS’s company Innotech4Life, which is engaged in the transfer of knowledge and inventions developed at the university.
==Assignment questions for remote students==


* What are good practice models for community gardens in the peri-urban area of a big city in the context of city inhabitants starting to learn about the existence and benefits of urban agriculture, and locals still practising agriculture in an individual and specific traditional manner?


MOST is intended to serve as a food hub, a distribution center for producers operating around the metropolitan area and, in some cases still within its borders. These local agriculture, referred to as an urban food zone, are becoming increasingly important to the city. MOST is expected to support them and promote their development into agroecological, environmentally and human friendly crops - following the slogan: healthy food, healthy people, healthy nature.  
* Good case-study examples of events and activities can be hosted to attract participants, new members and locals.  


* How to address the Eastern European and post-socialist context in an appropriate manner in order to support the development of urban agriculture in the form of community gardens?


MOST is intended to be an open space, open to the public, giving its visitors an opportunity for active and passive participation. Amidst the cultivated areas there will be places for leisurely strolling, leisure and admiration of fauna and flora. MOST is a cultivation site and a park at the same time.
* What financial model is most suitable and ethically appropriate for funding community gardens in a sustainable, inclusive way?
MOST is meant to educate. In the first place through example, practical activities, but also through its own educational programs. From the very beginning it has been an initiative related to educational and research activities and the involvement of higher education institutions (WULS). This cooperation is developed in the the spirit of participatory action learning and action research.
This creates the conditions for innovation. Collaboration between researchers and social entrepreneurs serves development and implementation of new urban solutions in both the agrotechnological and social spheres.


 
* A literature review of laws and regulations that can encourage the development of urban agriculture and community gardens.
MOST will be based on economic participation. Residents will have the opportunity to share ownership as well as gain access to local products and jointly decide on the further development of the initiative. The application of the community investment mechanism will allow expand the community around the initiative, include new people and at the same time raise additional funds. MOST is intended to function as a common good, accessible to everyone, inclusive, which at the same time requires own contribution, in the form of work or financial commitment.
MOST is expected to generate green jobs in the city, contributing to the development and promotion of a new profession - urban farmer. A profession that is based on technical and social innovation. Ultimately, the success of MOST will be measured by financial self-sufficiency, which guarantees employment.
 
The aim of the LL is to establish the urban farm in Warsaw (MOST)
The overall scope of research and activities includes:
a review of the current state of the art on urban farms as an element of food system;
mapping stakeholders (municipality, neighbor community, involved institutions, farmers);
searching for local farmers and interviewing them about their needs - what their expectations are and what they can give from themselves?
a plan of food production;
developing a cooperative management model
urban farm design
 
What is your first idea about partners / participants?
The Commons Lab Foundation;
Warsaw University of Life Science (researchers, students and Innotech4Life company;
Agropermalab Foundation;
Cooptech Hub;
people involved in the establishment and development of the Food Cooperative Dobrze.
municipal authorities.
local farmers from Warsaw food zone
 
Where is it located /which areas does it concern?
The proposed site by representatives of the Warsaw Municipality is located between Gwintowa Street and the Siekierkowski Bridge. The land has mostly primarily high quality soil. It is of the third quality class - Vistula silts. Soil that is excellent for all kinds of crops.
The land has been maintained for many years in horticultural culture (allotment gardens) and previously agricultural. This guarantees clean soil - uncontaminated by heavy metals, fertilizers and herbicides.
 
 
The area has a great number of valuable trees and shrubs, which still produce abundant crops (especially apple trees). Between them the invasive plant grows (Canadian goldenrod). The whole area has the charm of informal urban nature, “a wild grove“ - a landscape of high preference aesthetic.
 
 
The close proximity of the river can be felt in the humid and clean air. This proximity also guarantees low water levels groundwater, which has a positive effect on vegetation. In the neighborhood are allotment gardens and single-family houses. A little further away begin new housing estates, the inhabitants of which, certainly will need social spaces with an interesting program. The area is quite well connected with the rest of the city. There is a bicycle path and a bus stop, with a connecting bus to the subway line.
 
 
The downside of the indicated site is a noise pollution. The close proximity of the route Siekierkowski Bridge, where the speed limit is 90 km/h and the roadway runs on an overpass several meters high. It makes noise omnipresent and difficult to eliminate. On about a third length of the roadway is equipped with noise barriers. There, the level of loudness is tolerable. However, on the other two-thirds, where there are no screens, the noise is so intense that it causes discomfort, makes conversation difficult, and is not favorable to recreation and public use. Measurements of loudness there have indicated more than 50 db. In this situation, it is worth considering setting up additional noise barriers.  The second disadvantage of the plot is the lack of any outbuildings and utilities. The entire infrastructure has to be be made from the beginning.
 
How do you involve students?
workshops (e.g. composting workshops - involvement of a group of students in composting (distribution of household waste bins, construction of composters);
open events in the venues, e.g. cooking day; Green Day; bioblitz
 
How do you plan to link it to education / teaching?
course Assignments
Living Lab as an elective course (?)
Public dialogue / panel/ debate/ workshop;
Experiential education - Case Studies elective;
Involvement of student research group.
Ghent
AGROECOLOGICAL URBANISM _ FUTURE HERITAGE
in collaboration with De Stadsacademie, STA.M, ILVO
The urban food policy of the City of Ghent, Gent en Garde, has been the subject of international attention including several prestigious prizes. At the same time the systematic sale of public farmland in the peri urban fringe of Ghent has alienated new and traditional farmers who are upset about the systematic loss of farmland. Farmers are rapidly disappearing from the peri urban fringe, and new farmers face great difficulty to establish themselves.
Within the context of De Stadsacademie* civil society actors, farmers, urban civil servants, students and researchers have been engaged in the development of alternative policies regarding publicly owned farmland, and agricultural heritage more generally. The land currently being sold off by the city is the fruit of historical investment in urban agricultural heritage that has been handed down over several generations and are part of the permanent improvements (infrastructure, public space, heritage landscapes, drainage systems, etc.) that made farming possible.
Contemporary urban constituencies seem to care little for the future of this publicly owned farmland. In the political debate on the sale of public land urban social goals are played against ecological concerns and the protection of local farming activities. The land is presented as ‘fragmented’ and off little public interest, and sold to finance the development of residential care facilities for the elderly. The campaign against the sale of public farmland has led to a moratorium on further sales in the neighboring municipalities of Ghent. in the meantime the city is preparing a vision on Agricultural land use in the city and the wider region. Within De Stadsacademie we want to enter in a dialogue with parties that could help to articulate a shared agenda regarding the way in which the public ownership of farmland could be leveraged to accelerate an agroecological food transition. This will happen in the framework of an agroecological urbanism (www.agroecologicalurbanism.org), that is a way of urbanizing that actively supports the care for soils and the growing of food in an equitable and ecologically sustainable way. We will try to imagine new forms of urban infrastructure and future heritage that contribute to the local support of agroecological farmers and re-inscribe the farming activities within a new urban geography of farming.
The concrete exploration of a shared agenda for agroecological public land management will depart front the exploration of 4 positions in particular
-the shared use of farmland for the harvesting of drinking water and the production of food.
-the development of an integrated land policy by municipal care institutes for the production of food for consumption by their clientele.
-the development of shared infrastructure for nutrient cycling at landscape level
-the construction of new solidarities between old and new forms of decommodified food provisioning at the neighborhood level and periurban farmers.
Students in Ghent are working in the living Lab of De Stadsacademie in three capacities
Masterthesis students working within a joint Master Thesis Atelier
Students working within an advanced seminar focussed on bringing these positions in conversation
An Intensive Programme (July 7-17 2023) focused on public landmanagement for an agroecological urbanism
RESEARCH SUBJECTS/RESEARCH QUESTIONS (for students not working from Ghent)
Literature review on public land management for an Agroecological Urbanism.
What are the main areas of connection between municipal food policies and public farmland management?
What are the key challenges or obstacles to integrate public farmland management within urban food policy?
What are the key points of connection or areas of policy making that have been identified by local or regional authorities to forge a better connection between farm land management and food system transition objectives?
Documentation, discussion of existing practices connecting food policy and public land management
Examples of projects, plans or initiatives operating within the intersection between strategies of environmental land management (in light of nature conservation, green blue infrastructure, water management, etc) and food policy initiatives. We are particularly interested in strategies focussed on the harvesting of drinking water in farming areas (i.e. initiatives by ‘eau de Paris’).
Examples around public catering within public institutes (schools, hospitals, care facilities…) that make a direct connection between public food provisioning, agroecological farmers and land management.
Examples of neighborhood based initiatives around food support and place based solidarity in connection with agroecological farmers. We are particularly interested in community kitchen initiatives building a food sovereignty agenda together with agroecological producers.
Examples of investment in land readjustment and development of (new) collective farmers operating infrastructure in light of an agroecological transition and the activation of peri urban farmland. We are particularly interested in initiatives working on nutrient cycling, biomass harvesting in light of composting and soil remediation initiatives (on and off farm).
 
*De Stadsacademie is a collaboratorium dedicated to transdisicplinary research and teaching on complex and urgent sustainability challenges faced by the city and the university of Ghent. De Stadsacademie works on several ‘trajectories’ that define the thematic scope of its work over a number of years.
 
Madrid
The Living Lab is conceived as a space of interaction with the platform MAdrid Agroecologico, to provide support to make progress in one of their current main goals: consolidate the precarious network of agroecological farmers in the periurban area
Are alternative food networks connected to these agroecological farmers recognisable in the urban scene?  and in the landscape?
Comparison with the “standard” food chain, in which ways do the alternative food network have better performance?
Which planning tools can be activated to address the needs from small agroecological farmers ?
Reframing the food system from these micro initiatives. How to visualize and communicate the desired future? Reflections about upscaling

Latest revision as of 20:00, 27 February 2023

Montpellier « L’agriparc des Bouisses » Living Lab /France

Periurban agricultural park

Indicated for French speaking students (as many actors or resources around this project only speak French or are only published in French). An agriparc is an agricultural park included in the urban space, combining different functions around agriculture. It is a landscaped place of production, marketing in short circuit, a refuge for fauna and flora, but also a place of green leisure open to all. Subjected to intense urbanization and heavy automobile traffic, the inhabitants of the western sector of Montpellier have suffered a degradation of their quality of life and their environment. With the Agriparc des Bouisses project, the ambition is both to create a new place of attraction for the entire sector, and to offer the inhabitants a quality landscape and natural area. An innovative participatory approach has been launched with the inhabitants so that they can contribute to the agriparc project (on which the teams of landscape designers, urban planners and urban agriculture specialists will work).

Assignment questions for local students

Governance/public consultation

  • What lessons can be learned from the public consultation process?
  • What recommendations to make for the next process?
  • How to ensure that the public's opinions are taken into account during the project?

Management of the agriparc

  • How to connect this agriparc to the city, ensuring that it is inclusive of all populations?
  • How to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?

Connections

  • How to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?
  • How to relate this agriparc to a network of various agriparcs on the territory of the metropolitan area? Around which type of activities?

Assignment questions for remote students

  • How to reconcile leisure, recreational, environmental/biodiversity preservation, commercial and productive activities?
  • How to make this agriparc an urban-rural connection point?

(Answering those two questions with inputs from other experiences elsewhere - that you know, by inquiring on local case studies, or by literature)

  • Building a typology of urban agriparcs, based on literature.

Mastering French to a certain extent is a preference since much of the references and stakeholder responses will be in French, a comparative case study of other countries can of course be carried out in English.

Warsaw “MOST Urban Farm” Living Lab/Poland

Production and collaboration with local farmers

Short video presentation, Short pdf description 2023-01_MOST_LL_en, Extended description https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FZvY1t1ptUOfIXTSJ8XrFWJecCt6WlrU/view?usp=sharing

The Warsaw Urban Farm initiative was born out of the need to prepare the city for the upcoming effects of the environmental and food crises. Our goal is to create a local center for agro-ecological education and food production, and to develop and network future leaders in the field of sustainable food planning to contribute locally to food security and a healthier environment. To strengthen the city's resilience, we want to establish Warsaw's first farm (MOST), which will also be an incubator for further initiatives in the area of sustainable food system of Warsaw and surrounding suburban and rural areas.

Assignment questions for the local students

  • In addition to finances, what are the potential benefits of establishing the MOST farm in the selected location?

(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; analysis of spatial planning documents; field trip; spatial analysis; identifying key partners and stakeholders; identifying main problems and challenges faced by farmers operating in the selected area; SWOT analysis for the Warsaw agriculture of the upper Vistula)

  • What should be an economic model of the MOST farm?

(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trip; identifying main problems and challenges faced by farmers operating in the selected area; SWOT analysis for the Warsaw agriculture of the upper Vistula, developing an economic model )

  • Who are the stakeholders (municipality, neighbor community, involved institutions, and farmers) and what are their needs and influence?

(methods: field trip; analysis of land ownership; identifying key partners and stakeholders; mapping all actors and their needs and power; define potential partnerships and alliances)

  • What is the attitude of local farmers towards urban agriculture initiatives, particularly MOST?

(methods: field trip; mapping local farmers; interviews and questionnaires; designing a food hub)

  • What edible plants are the best to cultivate in MOST farm? Considering climate factors and socio-economic factors (production feasibility, retail).

(methods: literature review; field trip; consultation with an expert)

  • What is the Warsaw municipality's attitude toward biodiversity? Is it only a cost of maintaining vacant lands or a food production opportunity?

(methods: analysis of Municipality planning documents; interviews and questionnaires)

  • What are the regional rituals associated with agriculture and how to transfer them to an urban context?

(methods: literature review; field trip; mapping local farmers; interviews and questionnaires; developing a proposal for an urban harvest celebration)

Assignment questions for the remote students

  • What should the coop urban farm include in its programme? What are the potential benefits (social, economic, environmental, others), and how to increase them?

(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trips)

  • What are the models of coop urban farms around the world? (Economic models, inner organization structures).

(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; field trips)

  • What are the city's policies towards vacant lands considering its biodiversity and food production opportunities?

(methods: a literature review on relevant examples of urban farms and food hubs in other cities; academic papers review; analysis of Municipality planning documents; interviews and questionnaires)

Ghent AGROECOLOGICAL URBANISM FUTURE HERITAGE Living Lab/ Belgium

Leveraging publicly owned farmland for an agroecological transition in the peri-urban fringe of Ghent

The urban food policy of the City of Ghent, Gent en Garde, has been the subject of international attention including several prestigious prizes. At the same time the systematic sale of public farmland in the peri-urban fringe of Ghent has alienated new and traditional farmers who are upset about the systematic loss of farmland. Farmers are rapidly disappearing from the peri urban fringe, and new farmers face great difficulty to establish themselves. Within De Stadsacademie we want to enter in a dialogue with parties that could help to articulate a shared agenda regarding the way in which the public ownership of farmland could be leveraged to accelerate an agroecological food transition.

Assignment questions for remote student

  • Literature review on public land management for an Agroecological Urbanism.
  • What are the main areas of connection between municipal food policies and public farmland management?
  • What are the key challenges or obstacles to integrating public farmland management within urban food policy?
  • What are the key points of connection or areas of policy-making that have been identified by local or regional authorities to forge a better connection between farmland management and food system transition objectives?
  • Documentation, and discussion of existing practices connecting food policy and public land management
  • Examples of projects, plans or initiatives operating within the intersection between strategies of environmental land management (in light of nature conservation, green-blue infrastructure, water management, etc) and food policy initiatives. We are particularly interested in strategies focussed on the harvesting of drinking water in farming areas (i.e. initiatives by ‘Eau de Paris’).
  • Examples around public catering within public institutes (schools, hospitals, care facilities…) that make a direct connection between public food provisioning, agroecological farmers, and land management.
  • Examples of neighborhood-based initiatives around food support and place-based solidarity in connection with agroecological farmers. We are particularly interested in community kitchen initiatives building a food sovereignty agenda together with agroecological producers.
  • Examples of investment in land readjustment and development of (new) collective farmers operating infrastructure in light of an agroecological transition and the activation of peri-urban farmland. We are particularly interested in initiatives working on nutrient cycling, biomass harvesting in light of composting, and soil remediation initiatives (on and off the farm).

Madrid Agroecologico Living Lab/ Spain

The Living Lab is conceived as a space of interaction with the platform Madrid Agroecologico, to provide support to make progress in one of their current main goals: consolidate the precarious network of agroecological farmers in the peri-urban area. . In the last assembly, Madrid Agroecológico identified the need to optimize food fluxes (and transport) to improve the feasibility of farmers.It was set as a priority action for 2023 and request for support to draw a detailed análisis of food flows and an ecobalance to re-define distribution and logistic processes. A second goal of the LL is to check the possibilities to adapt the concept of "agroecological biodistrict" to one of Madrid’s districts and an associated region, revisiting current nodes of production and consumption in order to expand.

Assignment questions for remote students

  • What can be learned from agri-food cluster development to be applied to small scale and scattered agroecological farms?
  • Examples and good practices on food hubs or collective facilities adapted to small scale farmers
  • Examples and good practices to upscale agroecology from the farm to the landscape. Are alternative food networks and agroecological farmers recognisable in the landscape? and in the urban scene?
  • Comparison of an alternative food network with the “standard” food chain, in which ways do the AFN have better performance?
  • Which planning tools can be activated to address the needs of small agroecological farmers ?

Bucharest “Buruiană Community garden” Living Lab/Romania

A community garden in the peri-urban area of Bucharest

The Buruiană community garden is a bottom-up initiative of a group of young people who want to lead a sustainable lifestyle. It was funded in 2021 and the aim is to host a space for growing food, education and socialisation following principles of regenerative agriculture and sustainable practices. Members have access to the community garden and/or allotment gardens inside the 9000 sqm plot, located next to a river and accessible by car. Fig. . Aerial view of Buruiană garden. Source: https://www.facebook.com/gradinaburuiana

Assignment questions for local students

Concerning the general topic:

  • What are good practice models for community gardens in the peri-urban area of a big city in the context of city inhabitants starting to learn about the existence and benefits of urban agriculture, and locals still practising agriculture in an individual and specific traditional manner?
  • Can urban agriculture be considered a leisure or educational activity for city inhabitants?
  • Is the eastern european and post-socialist context appropriate for the development of urban agriculture in the form of community gardens?
  • Can urban agriculture and community gardens encourage people to lead a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle?
  • What laws and regulations can encourage the development of urban agriculture and community gardens?

Addressing the interest of local people:

  • Can community gardens be attractive for locals who mostly practise agriculture in their own private gardens? Can community gardens function as a space where exchange of knowledge between generations can take place, learning both from traditional local practices in the peri-urban areas and from innovative gardening techniques like permaculture? Can permaculture revive older traditional practices?
  • Can community gardens address unemployment and provide training for employment in agriculture?

Addressing the challenges of the community garden:

  • What financial model is most suitable and ethically appropriate for funding community gardens in a sustainable, inclusive way?
  • Can vulnerable categories like elderly, children and people with disabilities be integrated in activities and projects in the community garden? What are those activities? Is there a possibility of obtaining funding for these activities?
  • What events and activities can be hosted to attract participants, new members and locals?

Assignment questions for remote students

  • What are good practice models for community gardens in the peri-urban area of a big city in the context of city inhabitants starting to learn about the existence and benefits of urban agriculture, and locals still practising agriculture in an individual and specific traditional manner?
  • Good case-study examples of events and activities can be hosted to attract participants, new members and locals.
  • How to address the Eastern European and post-socialist context in an appropriate manner in order to support the development of urban agriculture in the form of community gardens?
  • What financial model is most suitable and ethically appropriate for funding community gardens in a sustainable, inclusive way?
  • A literature review of laws and regulations that can encourage the development of urban agriculture and community gardens.