Urban Transformations: pathways from practice to policy

Urban areas face urgent challenges due to pressures on resources and the environment. Ever increasing urbanisation squeezes open urban space and planted landscapes as the density of cities increases. And yet, urban agriculture is rapidly re-emerging in cities across the world in response to concerns over resources, environment, wellbeing and food systems. This has resulted in the creation of a new multifunctional urban space type that includes urban agriculture as a major element - productive urban landscapes.

The Continuous Productive Urban Landscape’s (CPUL’s) sustainable urban design concept, developed by Andre Viljoen and Katrin Bohn makes the case for re-thinking the way open urban space is designed and used. The concept has been tested through ongoing design research, utilising exhibitions, fieldwork, prototypes and writing.

Cover image of the Cities, Biodeversity and Governance policy report

Project aims

This is a new European research project that started in October 2014 and will run for eighteen months. The project is led by seven European practitioners and academics and it aims to consolidate existing linkages between arts and design practitioners and policy makers responding to the emergence of Productive Urban Landscapes. The objective is to further advance the definition and development of policy pathways enabling the coherent integration of these spaces into cities and sustainable food planning policy.

The main aims are

To define policy pathways that creates the conditions allowing for innovation and development in urban design and food systems.
To deepen and extend a growing impact on urban transformations from arts and design-led multidisciplinary practice beginning to explore the role of urban agriculture within productive urban landscapes.
To develop and promote innovative methods for bridging design and policy development in the context of cross disciplinary working, and identifying outstanding questions in relation to productive urban landscape research and education.

Project findings and impact

To be reported on completion of the project

Research team

Architects: Andre Viljoen (Principal Investigator), University of Brighton; Professor Doina Petrescu(Co-investigator), University of Sheffield; Professor Katrin Bohn, Technical University of Berlin; Craig Verzone, Verzone Woods Architects (Switzerland).

Artists: Debora Solomon and Mariske Van De Berg –Netherlands

Sociology/Food Policy: Prof. Han Wiskerke, Amsterdam Academy of Architecture and Rural Sociology Group, University of Wageningen -Netherlands.

Agronomist: Dr Howard Lee, Hadlow College.

Geographer: Dr Chiara Tornaghi, University of Leeds.

Food Policy: Clare Devereux, Policy Director, Food Matters UK, and a founder of the UK’ (Sustainablefoodcities.org 2014).

Output

United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies. 2010. Cities, Biodiversity and Governance: Perspectives and Challenges of the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the City Level: Policy Report. UNUIAS: Yokohama. Pp 31-32.

The London Assembly (2010) Cultivating the Capital: Food growing and the planning system in London , London: The London Assembly.

Forman, R.T.T. ( 2008 ) Urban Regions: Ecology and Planning Beyond the City . Cambridge University Press.

Hester, R.T. (2006) Design for ecological democracy, Cambridge MA : The MIT Press.

R - urban.net (2014) R - Urban | R - URBAN: pratiques et réseaux de résilience urbaine [Accessed 1 Sep. 2014]. Sustainablefoodcities.org (2014).

Sustainable Food Cities Homepage [Accessed 1 Sep. 2014].

UN Habitat (2012) Urban Patterns for a Green Economy: Working with Nature , Nairobi: UN Habitat, (accessed 5 August 2014).

United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies . 2010. Cities, Biodiversity and Governance: Perspectives and Challenges of the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the City Level: Policy Report. UNUIAS: Yokohama. Pp 31 - 32.

Viljoen, A. (ed) (2005) Continuous Productive Urban Land scape: Designing Urban Agricultur e for Sustainable Cities , Oxford: The Architectural Press.

Viljoen, A. and Bohn, K. (eds) (2014) Second Nature Urban Agriculture: Designing Productive Cities, Oxford: Routledge. Pp 12 - 17.

Partners

Artists: Debora Solomon and Mariske Van De Berg –Netherlands

Sociology/Food Policy: Prof. Han Wiskerke, Amsterdam Academy of Architecture and Rural Sociology Group, University of Wageningen -Netherlands.

Agronomist: Dr Howard Lee, Hadlow College.

Geographer: Dr Chiara Tornaghi, University of Leeds.

Food Policy: Clare Devereux, Policy Director, Food Matters UK, and a founder of the UK’ (Sustainablefoodcities.org 2014).