BENV 3213: The Evolution, Regulation, and Typologies of Urban Agriculture and Forestry

The Evolution of Urban Agriculture (UA) over the Centuries

Historical Context: * Urban Agriculture (UA) activities have always accompanied humankind. * The presence of agricultural areas within or in proximity to a city has various historical origins.
The Garden in the Ancient Age: * Spiritual and Recreational Purposes: * Egyptian Gardens ( $1600$ - $1400\,BC$ ): These gardens played an important spiritual role with strong symbolism referring to the generation of life. They featured an "ever-present lake," which served as a water source and represented the primordial ocean. * Subsistence and Local Market: * Hellenistic Period ( $323$ - $31\,BC$ ): Vegetable gardens began to develop within cities and the countryside, alongside orchards and ornamental gardens for the wealthy. * Production: Families with available land cultivated plants for personal consumption and for the local market. * The Roman Hortus: Derived from the Latin word referring to a space surrounded by a fence. It was a small land space near the main house, strictly intended for producing vegetables, fruits, and flowers, effectively acting as an extension of the home. * Urban Supply: A belt of vegetable gardens surrounded Rome and other urban centers, supplying local markets on a daily basis. * Gardens of Pompeii: These were integral to Roman domestic life, serving as private, cultivated spaces that merged utility with beauty. They utilized shrubs and trees, particularly evergreens for shade and fragrance.
The Garden in the Medieval Age ( $500$ - $1500\,AD$ ): * General Characteristics: Gardens were enclosed spaces designed for safety, food production, and the cultivation of medicinal herbs. * Social Purposes: * The Fence Garden: This was the typical medieval form, primarily found in monasteries and convents where the church provided social organization. These were small green areas surrounded by high walls where monks cultivated trees and plants. * Aesthetic Purposes: * Arabic Gardens: Deeply rooted in Islamic, Persian, and Mediterranean traditions. While designed for horticulture, they functioned as aesthetic and sensory representations of paradise on Earth, known as Jannah. * Bustans: Enclosed spaces arranged to provide a tranquil refuge. They combined water, shade, and fragrance to evoke a sensory experience reflecting the Quranic ideal garden. * Sensory Focus: These gardens aimed to satisfy all five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing) through ornamental crops, vegetables, and trees.
The Garden in the Modern Age: * Experimental Purposes during the Renaissance ( $14^{th}$ to $17^{th}$ centuries): * Shift in Perspective: The era marked a shift from theocentrism (God-centered) to anthropocentrism (human-centered). It valued scientific observation and classical philosophy. * The Botanical Garden of Pisa: Founded in $1543$ by Luca Ghini in Pisa, Italy. It is recognized as the world's first university botanical garden. * Botanical Garden of Padua: Established in $1545$ in Italy to fulfill a request by the University of Padua medical school. It was developed as a "Simples Garden" for medicinal plants. "Simples" refers to remedies obtained directly from nature without further concocting. * The Botanical Garden of Florence: Known as 'Giardino dei Semplici,' founded in $1545$ by Cosimo I de Medici. It is the third oldest botanical garden globally. * King's Kitchen Garden in Versailles: Created by Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie between $1678$ and $1683$ for King Louis XIV. This horticultural garden combined aesthetics with production to supply the royal court with year-round fruits and vegetables.
The Garden during the Contemporary Age: * Food Security and the Industrial Revolution: * Urban Migration: The Industrial Revolution caused workers to move from the countryside to cities, often resulting in misery, social exclusion, and malnutrition. * Migrant Gardens: Created on land owned by local administrations or religious communities to alleviate poverty through vegetable cultivation and small animal breeding. * Garden Cities and Allotments: Concepts that emerged to allow city dwellers to produce their own food. * World War II: Cultivation in cities ensured food security, though this role was largely forgotten during the post-war reconstruction of the $1950s$ and $1960s$ , when green spaces were replaced by buildings. * Social Purposes: * 1970s Ecological Turning Point: Birth of the first community gardens as a means of self-determination and independence from the market. * Guerrilla Gardening: The act of gardening on land where the gardener has no legal right to cultivate (e.g., abandoned sites, private or public property). It serves as a reaction to public indifference toward urban land degradation.

Regulation of Urban Agriculture and Forestry (UPFG)

Core Definitions: * Urban Forestry: The art, science, and technology of managing trees and forest resources in and around urban community ecosystems for physiological, sociological, economic, and aesthetic benefits. * Green Space: Any vegetated land or water within an urban area, including parks, gardens, green corridors (like disused railway lines), sports facilities, and children's play areas.
International Regulatory Framework: * There is no single legally binding global agreement for UPFG, but several conventions resulting from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro influence it. * UN-Habitat: The UN agency for human settlements. It addresses rural-to-urban migration pressure on infrastructure. Partnering with the FAO, it promotes UPFG as a nature-based solution. Key features include: * Integrating green infrastructure to reduce pollution and protect ecosystems. * Initiatives such as the $1^{st}$ African Forum on Urban Forests. * Strengthening local institutions for long-term forest management. * Agenda 21 - "Combating Deforestation": * A comprehensive global, national, and local plan of action. Chapter $11$ (Combating Deforestation) is relevant, specifically Programme Area B: "Enhancing the sustainable management and conservation of all forests, and the greening of degraded areas." * Impact: Contributes to the " $30$ by $30$ " target (conserving $30\%$ of land/water by $2030$ ). * Rio "Forest Principles" (1992): * A non-legally binding authoritative statement on forest management. It advocates for sustainable management to meet the needs of future generations and ensures stakeholder participation. * Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): * Began operating on December $29$ , $1993$ . Objectives include conservation, sustainable use, and fair benefit-sharing of genetic resources. It highlights UPFG for filtering pollution and mitigating the urban heat island effect. * United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): * Adopted in $1994$ . Aims to restore $1.5\,\text{billion hectares}$ of land by $2030$ . It identifies causes of degradation as soil erosion (wind/water), deterioration of soil properties, and long-term loss of natural vegetation.

National Framework: Kenya's Landscape and Restoration Strategy

Justification for Strategy: * Kenya has approximately $38.8\,\text{million hectares}$ of degraded land. Restoration is required to improve vegetation, increase forest cover, improve hydrological cycles, and enhance climate resilience.
Kenya's Commitments: * Restore $5.1\,\text{million hectares}$ of forest by $2030$ (Bonn Challenge). * Bonn Challenge Targets: $150\,\text{million hectares}$ globally by $2020$ and $350\,\text{million hectares}$ by $2030$ . * Tree Cover Targets: Current national tree cover is $12.13\%$ and forest cover is $8.83\%$ (2021 Assessment). The goal is to reach $30\%$ tree cover by $2032$ .
Challenges and Threats in Kenya: * Rapid population growth and urbanization. * Weak enforcement of regulatory frameworks. * Over-reliance on wood biomass for energy. * Loss of forest cover leading to reduced water flows.

Production Systems Typologies in the Urban Environment

Rationale for Horticulture in UA: * Efficient use of soil and water. * High nutritional value and additional income for stakeholders. * Proximity to market reduces post-harvest losses and storage needs.
Typology 1: Urban Food Gardening (Non-Business Oriented): * Micro-farming (Family Garden): Non-commercial production by households in pots, balconies, or small garden plots to provide fresh food for family and friends. * Allotment Gardens: Areas divided into small plots rented via municipal lease agreements. Often managed by associations; their focus has shifted from sustenance to leisure and health. * Community Gardens: Located on public or vacant land near residences. Types include: * Educational Gardens: Located in schools/social centers to teach food production and environmental impact. * Therapeutic Gardens: Located in healthcare institutions; gardening activities provide healing effects and stimulate the senses. * Social Gardens: Focused on creating social networks and community identity.
Typology 2: Urban Farming (Business Model): * Small-scale Commercial Farming: The most common type of UA globally. Managed by diverse actors from low-income individuals to graduates. Can be semi-intensive (greenhouses) with high returns. Constraints include land tenure uncertainty and lack of marketing skills. * Large-scale Enterprises: Located in peri-urban areas with high infrastructure investment. Driven by traditional farmers or urban investors. They produce significant portions of a city's food needs but face challenges regarding environmental pollution (groundwater contamination) from agrochemicals.
Typology 3: Non-urban Oriented Farming: * Conventional farming located in peri-urban areas. These were originally rural farms displaced by urban growth. They follow standard agricultural sector regulation policies.