Fighting climate change in cities: urban agriculture, green AND affordable homes and neighbourhoods
UpdatedGOLD VI report
As part of the UCLG GOLD V1 Report, partners of the CoHabitat Network have contributed a number of case studies based on their experience of successful projects overcoming urban and territorial inequalities.
AUTHORS
Pierre Arnold and Nina Quintas (urbaMonde)
CITIES/COUNTRIES IT COVERS
Karise (Denmark) ; Boston (United States); Rennes (France)
▶ Click here to read the full case study (PDF)
SUMMARY
This contribution examines sustainable initiatives to renature and produce food in cities at different scales and involving public sector and community stakeholders. At the small scale, Karise Permatopia - a rural co-housing project in Denmark - is collectively implementing a sustainable system rooted in the values of permaculture and with a strong sense of community, using renewable energy and circular economy principles while being self-sufficient in food.
The housing and farming community managed to collaborate with a public housing organization and negotiate the local zoning with the municipality to build housing on rural land managed by the collective. In urban contexts, like Boston or Toronto, Community Land Trusts have been implementing important urban agriculture projects, which are facilitated by removing the speculative value on land that can, therefore, be used for agriculture purposes without being subjected to the market pressure.
Finally, at the metropolitan scale, the municipality of Rennes is exemplary at providing support for renaturing the city through public policies that foster large- and small-scale urban agriculture, promoting the idea of a “feeding city” while granting financing, allocation of land and capacity building to community-led initiatives.