Urban agriculture is not a lever of social justice in itself

Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint Brooklyn © Rooftop farm

Is making people plant a garden a solution to growing urbanization? As cities continue to sprawl densely, it has become clear that cities must take into account durability.

Urban agriculture is often presented as an ideal solution for sustainable development in cities. It can be defined as “​a production located in or on the fringe of a city, town or metropolis that produces, raises, processes and distributes a diversity of food and non-food products, using and providing the human and material resources, products and services found in and around the urban area.”​ (Mougeot, 2000). It brings together environmental issues (by increasing green spaces in cities), social justice (by supporting to some extent food autonomy and social links), and economic development (by providing local products).

Is urban agriculture an activity for privileged urban dwellers?

To practice urban agriculture, city dwellers need to learn to cultivate. They must get proper materials, have enough time to farm, and need to know about specific procedures to obtain land use permits. Privileged urban dwellers have easier access to land and to proper materials. They also have more free time, when less privileged people often have to work at night or during weekends to pay the bills. Moreover, urban farms organized by private families or private communities are often located in rich neighborhoods. In the meantime, urban farms located in poorer neighborhood tends to be abandoned by the local inhabitants after a few years of exploitation, often because the association or city service that helps manage the farm sees its fundings get cut or lowered.

Is urban agriculture leading to gentrification?

In the age of globalization, cities are in competition to attract capital. To do so, public and private policies try to make cities more attractive by “greenwashing” them. As urban agriculture contributes to economic growth, it tends to increase the price of property. Researchers talk about an “eco-gentrification” to define the process of displacement and exclusion of an economically vulnerable portion of the population, which occurs under the pressure of sustainable urban development plans. The property market can use discourse about environmental action to promote the revitalization of a low-income neighborhood and attract the middle and upper classes, who care about the quality of their food, considered a necessary condition for well-being.

Can urban agriculture contribute to the social justice movement?

Urban agriculture can also be considered as an educational or recreational tool to facilitate social inclusion. People from every social class have easy access to urban farms managed by municipalities or social organizations. It appears that the access to urban farms, to proper materials and urban agriculture training are real issues. This access depends on city governance and public policies. Urban agriculture is multi-functional and has several goals (educational, recreational, feeding). To ensure an easy access for every urban dweller, municipalities must consider every dimension of urban agriculture and facilitate urban farm planning and management in every urban area. When policymakers tends to take more and more in consideration the importance of including such projects in big urban operations, a sustainable economic model is still to be found.

This article was written by Amélie Dakoure, Léa Monot, Alban Narbonne, Morgane Castellini, all Master’s student in the Muséum “Society & Biodiversity”specialization.