International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability ICUACS on September 29-October 01, 2020 in Valencia, Spain

International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability ICUACS on September 29-October 01, 2020 in Valencia, Spain

International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability (ICUACS) September 29, 2020 - Valencia, Spain

Following the success of the first conference in the series which took place in the New Forest, UK (2018), the conference has been reconvened in 2020. The aim of the meeting is to review and discuss ways in which urban agriculture can contribute to achieving sustainable cities.

As urban populations continue to increase it is essential to consider ways of reducing their impact in terms of use of natural resources, waste production and climate change.

The increasing number of people in cities requires new strategies to supply the necessary food with limited provision of land and decreasing resources. This will become more challenging unless innovative solutions for growing and distributing food in urban environments are considered.

The scale of modern food production has created and exacerbated many vulnerabilities and the feeding of cities is now infinitely more complex. As such, the food system cannot be considered secure, ethical or sustainable.

In the last few years, there has been a rapid expansion in initiatives and projects exploring innovative methods and processes for sustainable food production. The majority of these projects are focused on providing alternative models that shift the power back from the global food system to communities and farmers improving social cohesion, health and wellbeing. It is therefore not surprising that more people are looking towards urban farming initiatives as a potential solution.

These initiatives have demonstrated that urban agriculture has the potential to transform our living environment towards ecologically sustainable and healthy cities. Urban agriculture can also contribute to energy, natural resources, land and water savings, ecological diversity and urban management cost reductions.

The impact urban agriculture can have on the shape and form of our cities has never been fully addressed. How cities embed these new approaches and initiatives, as part of new urban developments and a city regeneration strategy is critical.

The Urban Agriculture conference will address these challenges and search for new solutions.

The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Urban Agriculture. Papers on other subjects related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.

 

Development and planning

 

    Urban metabolism

    History of urban agriculture

    Integrated urbanism

    Sustainable land use

    Urban and peri-urban enterprises

    Green infrastructures and sustainable urbanism

    CPULs - Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes

    City food chains

    Food sovereignty

    Urban distribution and processing systems

    Market gardens

    Sustainable urban drainage

    Water resources and irrigation systems

    Sustainable food systems

    Organic farming

    Food security

 

Urban farms

 

    Patchwork farms

    Pop-up farms

    Roof top farms

    Green roofs

    Vertical greening and farms

    Hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics

    Hydrogardens

    Composting in cities

    Allotment systems

    Guerrilla gardening

    Permaculture and agricultural forestry

    Urban animal farms and bee-keeping

    Greenhouses

    Food networks

 

Socio-economic aspects

 

    Community supported agriculture

    Community cohesion and job creation

    Community gardens

    Communities as co-producers

    School and young urban farmers

    Education and training

 

Innovation and benefits

 

    Closed loops systems

    Transport and distribution

    Waste food recovery and recycling

    Renewable energy resources

    Healthy cities

    Care farming

    Ecological water systems

    Biofuel production in cities

    Quality of streets and urban environment

    Reduction of Urban Heat Island

    Farm to fork

    Eco-cities and eco-villaging

    Show cities

    Air pollution reductions

    Organic farming

 

Case studies

Name: Wessex Institute of Technology
Website: https://www.wessex.ac.uk
Address: Wessex Institute of Technology Ashurst Lodge Ashurst Southampton SO40 7AA UK

Located amid the beautiful New Forest National Park in England, Wessex Institute of Technology (usually referred to as just Wessex Institute or WIT) is a unique organisation serving the international scientific community. The overall aim of Wessex Institute is to develop a series of knowledge transfer mechanisms, particularly directed towards the exchange of information between academics and professional users within industry. This is achieved through a range of activities organised by a dedicated team of staff both within the Institute and its associate companies. A large network of prestigious contacts and links have been established with many organisations throughout the world.
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