Urban agriculture in chinese cities: Practices, motivations and challenges

Abstract

As cities in China continue to grow, concerns have emerged over the deterioration of social and environmental conditions in urban areas, alongside public anxiety over food safety. One potential strategy to address these issues is urban agriculture (UA). This chapter presents a typology of urban agriculture in China based on location and practices; examines the perspectives of producers, enterprises and state officials regarding their motivations for pursuing or supporting urban agriculture; and identifies how China’s unique political-economic context shapes urban agriculture developments. The findings suggest that various forms of urban agriculture exist in China, which vary by location, degree of capital investment and extent of state support or restrictions, and are motivated by common social, political and ecological concerns, to differing extents.