The city is growing up: agricolture and urban regeneration

This article explores the role of urban agriculture in promoting initiatives to improve the constructed and intermediate spaces of cities, as well as the health, quality of life and wellbeing of their inhabitants. In recent decades, the definition of health has gone from focussing on a state of total physical, mental and social wellbeing to considering health to be a dynamic, ongoing process involving the relationship between the individual and the environment, as well as the idea that an elevated capacity for adaptation is of the utmost importance in managing the events of life. Starting from this premise, the text describes a new alliance between agriculture, health and urban regeneration, with the role of urban agriculture being to supply fresh food, generate employment, recycle the city’s refuse, create green belts and reinforce the resilience of cities in the face of climate change. Drawing on a series of examples, the text analyses the frontiers of urban agriculture, both traditional and innovative, from gardening to growing with aquaponic and aeroponic techniques, differentiating these methods on the basis of the types of equipment used, the labour required and the capital invested, all while noting the wide range of objectives met by such methods of growing, including food production, heightened biodiversity, good health, nutritional education, social inclusion and the establishment of business incubators. The case studies are also classified under functional and physical parameters, laying the groundwork for understanding and encouraging the integration of urban agriculture into the city context while identifying shortcomings and proposing new combinations of projects able to accelerate the rise of a renewed approach to urban regeneration.