User:Nathan.brenn/Urban agriculture

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Agroecological[edit]
Main article: Agroecology

Agroecology is a scientific framework, movement, and applied practice of agricultural management systems that seeks to achieve food sovereignty within food systems'''. In contrast to the dominant model of agriculture, agroecology emphasizes the importance of soil health by fostering connections between the diverse biotic and abiotic factors present . and It''' prioritizes sustainability, farmer and consumer well-being, traditional knowledge revival, and democratized learning systems. Transdisciplinarity and diversity of knowledge is a central theme to agroecology, so many urban agroecology initiatives address topics of social justice, gender empowerment, ecological sustainability, indigenous sovereignty, and public participation in addition to promoting food access. For example, agroecology has been integral to social movements surrounding public demand for sustainably grown food free from pesticides and other chemicals.

'''Under an agroecological framework, urban agriculture alleviates much more than simply food insecurity by also encouraging discourse about all facets of community wellness from physical and mental health to community connectedness. It''' has the potential to play a role as a "public space, as an economic development strategy, and as a community-organizing tool" *ADD CITATION BACK**.

Benefits[edit]
The benefits that UPA UA brings along to cities that implement this practice are numerous. The transformation of cities from only consumers of food to generators of agricultural products contributes to sustainability, improved health, and poverty reduction/mitigation alleviation.


 * UA creates circular energy loops in which food is consumed in the same place it is produced and waste is not exported to the peripheral rural areas. assists to close the open-loop system in urban areas characterized by the importation of food from rural zones and the exportation of waste to regions outside the city or town.
 * Wastewater and organic solid waste can be transformed into resources for growing agriculture products: the former can be used for irrigation, the latter as fertilizer.
 * Vacant urban areas can be used for agriculture production instead of sitting unused
 * Other natural resources can be conserved. The use of wastewater for irrigation improves water management and increases the availability of fresh water for drinking and household consumption.
 * UPA can help to preserve bioregional ecologies from being transformed into cropland.
 * Urban agriculture saves energy (e.g. energy consumed in transporting food from rural to urban areas).
 * Local production of food also allows savings in reduces transportation costs, storage, and in product loss, what results in food cost reduction.
 * U P A UA improves the quality of the urban environment through greening and thus, a reduction in pollution
 * Urban agriculture also makes the city a healthier place to live by improving the quality of the environment. (may consider deleting this or integrating into the previous bullet point)
 * UPA is a very effective tool to fight against hunger and malnutrition since it facilitates the access to food by an impoverished sector of the urban population.

Poverty alleviation: It is known that a A large part of the people involved in urban agriculture are the urban poor. In developing countries, the majority of urban agricultural production is for self-consumption, with surpluses being sold in the market. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), urban poor consumers spend 60–80% of their income on food, making them very vulnerable to higher food prices.


 * UPA provides food and creates savings in household expenditure on consumables, thus increasing the amount of income allocated to other uses.
 * UPA surpluses can be sold in local markets, generating more income for the urban poor.

Community centers and gardens educate the community to see agriculture as an integral part of urban life. The Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development in Sarasota, Florida, serves as a public community and education center in which innovators with sustainable, energy-saving ideas can implement and test them. Community centers like Florida House begin to integrate agriculture into the urban lifestyle by providing centralized urban areas to learn about urban agriculture and food production. and to begin to integrate agriculture with the urban lifestyle.

Urban farms are also a proven effective educational tool to teach kids about healthy eating and meaningful physical activity.