Chapter 15
Multifunctional Urban Landscapes: The
Potential Role of Urban Agriculture
as an Element of Sustainable Land
Management
Kathrin Specht, Julian Schimichowski, and Runrid Fox-Kämper
Abstract Urban agriculture (UA) has long been the subject of civic and scientific
debate, since it provides cities with a diverse range of functions and services. UA
is thought to have a positive effect on sustainable urban development in environmental, economic and social areas. Although most of the effects attributed to UA
are positive, there are also critical aspects and concerns. For example, doubts have
been raised about the quality of the products grown, considering the prevalence of
air pollution and contaminated soils; and there are doubts about the contribution that
urban agriculture makes to feeding urban populations, owing to the small quantities produced. Moreover, there are conflicts surrounding land use, especially in big
cities; and in some cases, agricultural activities are undertaken in the city without
the necessary building approvals. The concept of co-production and sharing as a
(business) model is increasingly being applied with reference to urban gardens. This
is particularly the case with volunteer-led community gardens, which are tremendously open to gardening enthusiasts and are renowned for the sharing of resources
and space. Rather than seeking to make a profit, many of these initiatives operate
under the principles of a non-profit or sharing economy. This chapter explores how
UA can contribute to sustainable land management and co-production. To this end,
background information is given on the (re-)emerging phenomenon of urban food
production and on what motivates those involved to implement collaborative practices. The functions and services provided by UA as an element of sustainable land
management are then explored using the three pillars of sustainability.
K. Specht (B) · R. Fox-Kämper
Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development (ILS), Brüderweg 22–24, 44135
Dortmund, Germany
e-mail: kathrin.specht@ils-forschung.de
R. Fox-Kämper
e-mail: runrid.fox-kaemper@ils-forschung.de
J. Schimichowski
Master Graduate Spatial Planning - Technische Universität Dortmund, August-Schmidt-Straße 1,
44227 Dortmund, Germany
e-mail: jschimichowski@gmail.com
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_15
291
Multifunctional Urban Landscapes: The
Potential Role of Urban Agriculture
as an Element of Sustainable Land
Management
Kathrin Specht, Julian Schimichowski, and Runrid Fox-Kämper
Abstract Urban agriculture (UA) has long been the subject of civic and scientific
debate, since it provides cities with a diverse range of functions and services. UA
is thought to have a positive effect on sustainable urban development in environmental, economic and social areas. Although most of the effects attributed to UA
are positive, there are also critical aspects and concerns. For example, doubts have
been raised about the quality of the products grown, considering the prevalence of
air pollution and contaminated soils; and there are doubts about the contribution that
urban agriculture makes to feeding urban populations, owing to the small quantities produced. Moreover, there are conflicts surrounding land use, especially in big
cities; and in some cases, agricultural activities are undertaken in the city without
the necessary building approvals. The concept of co-production and sharing as a
(business) model is increasingly being applied with reference to urban gardens. This
is particularly the case with volunteer-led community gardens, which are tremendously open to gardening enthusiasts and are renowned for the sharing of resources
and space. Rather than seeking to make a profit, many of these initiatives operate
under the principles of a non-profit or sharing economy. This chapter explores how
UA can contribute to sustainable land management and co-production. To this end,
background information is given on the (re-)emerging phenomenon of urban food
production and on what motivates those involved to implement collaborative practices. The functions and services provided by UA as an element of sustainable land
management are then explored using the three pillars of sustainability.
K. Specht (B) · R. Fox-Kämper
Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development (ILS), Brüderweg 22–24, 44135
Dortmund, Germany
e-mail: kathrin.specht@ils-forschung.de
R. Fox-Kämper
e-mail: runrid.fox-kaemper@ils-forschung.de
J. Schimichowski
Master Graduate Spatial Planning - Technische Universität Dortmund, August-Schmidt-Straße 1,
44227 Dortmund, Germany
e-mail: jschimichowski@gmail.com
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_15
291