A classification scheme for urban agriculture combining technical properties with characteristics related to the economic and social sustainability

Urban Farm DB summary

Urban agriculture is often associated with sustainable practices, but the diversity of systems classified as urban agriculture and limited information on their sustainability call that link into question. Drawing on 91 scientific papers, a study proposes a holistic classification of urban agricultural systems combining technical, social and economic characteristics, with economic production intensity and the intensity of cooperation among actors as key axes. One end of the scheme covers ground-based, open, socially motivated systems with high cooperation and low production intensity; the other end covers building-integrated, quasi-closed systems with high production intensity. Mapping sustainability claims from the literature onto the scheme associated "urban farming" with job creation, food safety, water savings and higher yields, and "urban gardening" with educational potential, biodiversity improvements and lower yields.