Creative Commons

This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Environmental Management and Sustainability at the International Hellenic University. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) refers to agriculture done in urban areas or/and in close proximity to urban areas, either practiced on small, semi- or large scale (FAO, 2018a). UPA presents a chance to increase food production in cities. This could reduce poverty, unemployment and enhance food security, especially in developing countries. In combination with sustainable land use and green infrastructure, UPA can also become a potential mitigation and adaptation strategy for climate change (Zazada, et al., 2018). UPA is by many scholars considered as an opportunity for adaptation to growing urbanization. In many high-income countries people start to discover the neglected beauty of vegetable gardens and balconies, the joy of farming, the opportunity for social contact and the resulting exercise. Many well-off urban dwellers feel uncomfortable with the idea that they have to consume goods, produced with the use of chemicals by unknown people, transported over long distances (Autio, et al., 2013) and increasingly prefer freshly, local harvested food. Today, many are embracing UPA as a new concept despite being an old phenomenon (Beed, et al., 2015). Around the world, local food movements, grassroots initiatives, seed exchange networks, healthy city networks, often in collaboration with policy makers, strive to greening the cities, lessen their environmental impacts, increase urban sustainability and resilience to climate change (MUFPP, 2015). Yet, the vast majority of UPA is driven by necessity, not leisure.