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| Urban garden design – Challenge for the future | |
| In 2005, according to the FAO, urban and peri-urban agriculture provided food for around 700 million urban inhabitants (a quarter of the world's urban population). It supplies urban markets with a wide range of products, creates jobs and makes towns greener by virtue of fruit orchards, market gardens and ‘on the side’ maybe a small range of ornamentals. With the huge urbanization in act in ‘Cindia’ (China & India) and parts of Africa, it is forecast that by 2025, half the population in these countries and beyond will be living in urban areas. This suggests that serious consideration should be given by growers, landscapers, architects and technicians to the design of multifunctional urban gardens. Gardens that bring together possibilities for intensive fruit and vegetable production without forgetting the insertion of ornamentals crop rotations in the otherwise concrete jungles. This type of design should examine all factors from water supply to the type of growing media (could be soilless cultivation in protected structures, closed hydroponic systems etc.) to drainage and run-off. If land is too precious, the space for an urban garden need not be restricted to ground level; they could be conceived at various levels (even below ground in some circumstances) as an integral part of the modern buildings from the early stages in architectural design. Such gardens do not even need to be level - they could also be designed on slopes and terraced. Such gardens will be needed to provide some of the needs for food and restoration of people living in a modern urban area which are rapidly extending into megalopoli. Take for example the eventual coalescence of the big urban extensions around the Pearl Delta in China; from Hong Kong to Shenzhen up to Guangzhou (Canton) and down the other side to Macao (Ndr). The urban population explosion represents a series of major challenges to the megalopoli, cities and towns. As a result of migration, urban poverty is growing and the underprivileged have difficulty buying the food they need. There is an increasing requirement for food production in these urban areas. Urban and periurban horticulture and agriculture can help solve these serious food and ecological problems. However, it is under constant threats, such as competition for land between agricultural and residential or industrial uses, or the use of imports by food distribution groups and supermarkets. It is vital to reconsile these contradictory interests. Many United Nations and other projects have been undertaken in the last few years. Urban and peri-urban agriculture goes under the letters (UPA). “Alphagalileo”, CIRAD, www.fao.org/urbanag/ |
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