COST Ac(on ‘Urban Agriculture Europe’:
Report from a research network and related case studies in Oslo
Sebas(an Eiter – Dept. of Landscape Monitoring
«Food in the city»: Conference on Urban Agriculture, Trondheim, 12th April 2016
Urban Agriculture (UA)
– A «hidden champion»
– Neglected for decades by urban and agricultural policies
– (Urban) Farmland as poten(al building ground – Agriculture as rural ac(vity
Global challenges
– Urbanisa(on – Food security
– Sustainable development
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Ques(ons
– How can UA contribute to a smart, inclusive and sustainable development of European ci(es?
– How can UA create vital urban spaces that have new social, cultural and ecological quali(es and are
economically viable?
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Metabolism Waste recycling, CO2 sequestration, soil and climate, …
Business
Specialisation to urban needs, local market sales, economic
diversification, … Governance
Community activities, education, social policy,
…
Space
Open space access, green infrastructure, cultural heritage, … Phenomenon
Definition, Typology, Policy Agenda, …
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Working groups
Timeline and Geography
Defini(on
Book content
European typology
Actors model
Urban metabolism model Business model catalogue
7 case study regions
Urban vs. non-‐urban agriculture
Different dimensions
Urban agriculture Non-‐urban/other/“normal” agriculture
Spa8al Close to city
i.e. either profi(ng from proximity to local urban market or suffering from press through development of built-‐up areas (residen(al, business/industrial, transport infrastructure)
Distant from city
Func8onal Food and non-‐food produc(on (educa(on, adventure, amenity, … – incl. riding, hun(ng, fishing etc., catering/hostelling)
Food produc(on only
(and “automa(cally” included non-‐
consumer-‐oriented goods like ecosystem services)
Market Mainly local consumers (direct marke(ng?)
Mainly non-‐local consumers (regional, na(onal, interna(onal)
Origin Introduced
(when spa(ally close to city)
Remnant
(when spa(ally close to city – s(ll urban acc. to criterion spa(al then…)
Actor Hobby farmer Professional farmer
(both full-‐(me and part-‐(me) Stakeholder/beneficiary Food and non-‐food consumers Food consumers only
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UA: Two main levels
Urban farming – Professional/
commercial
– Business model
adapted to profit from vicinity of city
– Local products – Local services
– Non-‐professional/
non-‐commercial – Usually limited
economic dependency on products
– Oien social purposes Urban food gardening
Urban farming: 8 types
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Urban food gardening: 6 types
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Non-‐professional gardening
dominates in
intraurban areas.
Professional
farming dominates in periurban areas.
Professional farming is interested in developing new business models for intraurban areas.
New alliances
from government, civil society and the market occur.
UA Actors
Differen8a8on – Crea(ng dis(nc(ons
Diversifica8on –
Going beyond core ac(vi(es
The Commons –
Sharing resources & products
Experience – Selling experiences, less products
Urban Farmers AG
Maison Forte
Ortoloco
Noordholland
Daktuin Zuidpark Rooftop garden
Low cost – Using intelligently synergies
UA Business Models: “Living labs” for
innova(ve and sustainable farming
– Required by the European Commission
– From ornamental to
produc(ve nature based solu(ons
Green Infrastructure
– Enhance stakeholder and ci(zen ‘ownership’ of green infrastructure
– Help to redefine a city’s social iden(ty in a globalized world
Agricultural Heritage
Metabolism: A more circular economy
UAE Online Atlas: An overview
hmp://www.urban-‐agriculture-‐europe.org/
– European UA observatory?
– Detect innova(on and cri(cal developments?
– How to sustain the tool?
UAE Online Atlas: Future?
First policy recommendations: The “Barcelona Declaration”
© Frank Lohrberg
Barcelona declara(on: UA and the CAP
We recommend to the EU Commission and to the Council of Europe to – recognize UA as
• a driving force for innova8on in the whole agricultural sector
• a cultural resource for quality of urban life and wellbeing
– raise awareness for UA and its special condi(ons, poten(als and demands – promote research on UA
We recommend specifically to the EU Commission to
– define specific objec8ves on UA related to the characteris(cs of different forms of UA – include UA issues in the mission statement of the Directorate-‐General for Agriculture
and Rural Development (DG Agri)
– install an advisory group on UA at DG Agri
– ins8tu8onalize UA within one of DG Agri’s units
UA and Social and Environmental Policies
Growing Communi8es Through Growing Food (Contextualising UA as a policy field)
UA can address many issues on the poli8cal agenda, but is s8ll not widely recognised as a tool to solve social, economic and environmental problems:
– Unemployment – Social exclusion – Poverty
– Educa(on
– Climate change mi(ga(on – Preserva(on of biodiversity – Valorisa(on of cultural heritage
Policy sectors
– Agriculture and Food
– Trade, Industry and Fisheries – Educa(on and Research
– Climate and Environment – Local Government and
Modernisa(on
– Health and Care Services – Jus(ce and Public Security
Which ministries could share responsibility for different types of UA?
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NIBIO’s UA projects in Oslo
– Overall resource mapping (GIS) (Bria(co 2015)
– Detailed resource mapping (soil & users) (Gil Ruiz 2016) – Allotment gardens (Veen 2014, Veen & Eiter in prep.)
Inventory of free/abandoned areas in Oslo and possibili(es for UA
Chiara Bria(co
Short-‐Term Scien(fic Mission
Norwegian Forest and Landscape Ins(tute (now: NIBIO)
Dept. of Agriculture, County Governor of Oslo and Akershus Dept. of Environment, Oslo municipality
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Digital Map Layers
Environ.
Dept.
(BYM) Pollu(on
Exis(ng urban
agri-‐
culture
Admini-‐
stra(ve divisions Urban
equip-‐
ment (parks
etc.) Skog +
landskap (NIBIO)
Agri-‐
cultural soil quality
Buildings (FKB)
Land resources
(AR 5) Farms
(pt-‐data) Basic
maps
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Systema(c mapping:
overlay analyes
Different types of UA ê
Different demands to area / land resource
Poten(al for Urban Agriculture on former farmland at Bredtvet and Gaustad
A study of soil resources, current land use, and users’ and stakeholders’ desires and perceived challenges
Cris(na Gil Ruiz
Study areas
– Gaustad – Bredtvet
Landowner: Norwegian Na(onal Property
Administra(on (Statsbygg)
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Methods
Soil resources
Current land use Perceived
opportuni(
es and challenges
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Semi-‐structured interviews with
users and stakeholders
Auger sampling
Transect walks in the area &
informal interviews
Users
“Groups of people from the neighborhood who could be interested in using the land at Bredtvet and Gaustad”
– Target groups: Ins(tu(ons adjacent to areas – Spa(al approach: 1.5 km radius
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Soil (Bredtvet)
-‐ 106 daa (10.6 ha) mapped
-‐ Marine clay soils:
Drainage needed for regular agriculture -‐ Mostly good soil
quality
-‐ 1 spot very high -‐ 2 spots lower
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Land use (Bredtvet)
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Leisure area
Green corridor
Historical site Spontaneous
food garden Educa(onal
area
-‐ Suitability for many types of UA
-‐ Greenhouse and food garden at prison?
-‐ Pond on Eutric Gleysol?
-‐ Connect with exis(ng projects in Oslo?
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UA poten(al
(Bredtvet)
Conclusions
– Different types of UA can adapt to current land use - People are willing to get involved in projects
- Needs
- Project leaders / facilitators - Ins(tu(onal involvement - Funding
- Cross-‐sectoral coopera(on: public administra(on, ci(zens and private ins(tu(ons
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Allotments in Oslo: Social rela(ons, diets and wallets
Esther Veen
– Short-‐Term Scien(fic Mission
– Social effects of urban agriculture
– Rela(ons / contacts – Food pamerns
(Foto: Esther Veen)
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Case studies and methods
Geitmyra Nedre Stovner
– Ques(onnaires – Interviews
– Visits/observa(on
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Findings
– Vegetables and social rela(ons are both essen(al elements of the gardening experience
– The garden is an extension of the home
– Invi(ng people, getng together
– A beau(ful place to spend (me, recrea(onal space
– All respondents meet and talk to others
– The garden as mee(ng place is most important for people who par(cipate rela(vely limle in society.
– The harvest is of more importance to respondents from Nedre Stovner.
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Norw egian and Dutch gardeners:
qualita(ve matrix
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In two gardens importance of both factors interrelated
Neighbourhood difference within Norway
Thank you for your amen(on!
Special thanks to Frank Lohrberg, Wolf Lorleberg, Dona Pickard, Lionella Scazzosi, Axel Timpe, Chiara Bria(co, Cris(na Gil Ruiz and Esther Veen for slide templates!