Urban agriculture as a nature-based solution…
…to address social-ecological challenges in Australian cities
Date posted 2 March 2021
Abstract
Australia is currently grappling with a range of social and environmental challenges, many of which impact the way our public health system, and society more broadly, function.
In this short communication paper, we explore urban agriculture in Australia as a Nature-Based Solution (NBS) to address some of the ecological, social, economic, and health challenges facing the continent. We argue that urban agriculture has the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change extremes while simultaneously providing multiple benefits such as improving wellbeing, people-nature connections, and food security.
We present three exemplar case studies diverse in geography, context, and governance from Queensland, Tasmania, and New South Wales exploring verge gardening, market gardening, and a community greening program respectively to highlight the benefits of urban agriculture as an NBS.
We advocate that various forms of urban agriculture need to be researched and considered for their potential impacts and multiple benefits to be fully supported, governed, and understood in light of the social-ecological challenges Australian cities face.
If you would like a copy of the full article, a PDF, to read or discuss this article with the author, contact him via the details below:
Dr Jonathan (Yotti) Kingsley
Senior Lecturer, Health Promotion
Health Promotion Major Coordinator
School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health, Arts and Design
Swinburne University of Technology
E: jkingsley@swin.edu.au
T: +(61) 03 9214 4975