TY - JOUR
T1 - The case for urban agriculture
T2 - Opportunities for sustainable development
AU - Thwaites, Hannah Joy
AU - Hume, Isobel Violet
AU - Cavagnaro, Timothy Richard
PY - 2025/8
Y1 - 2025/8
N2 - This review examines the potential role of urban agriculture – the practice of farming within and around cities and densely populated areas – in addressing the pressing challenge of sustainable development, correlated to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a set of 17 interconnected goals designed to guide action towards a sustainable and equitable future, the SDGs represent a call to action for all countries and highlight the most pressing challenges and opportunities of today. In recognising that the function and impacts of sustainably and equitably feeding the world's population are inherent to many of the goals, an interrogation of literature about food supply from within the urban environment (where most people live) has been conducted to support the research aim of considering urban agriculture as a strategy to help achieve urban sustainability and resilience goals. Through a narrative review approach this novel investigation extends beyond the constraints of narrow SDG-centric literature to sustainable development more broadly, finding that urban agriculture is highly valued for its ability to strengthen local food systems and its ecosystem service contributions to urban sustainability, along with socio-cultural attributes. This review depicts practices, highlights multifarious benefits, and features potential perverse outcomes and considerations; in the process identifying that the strongest and deepest connections between urban agriculture and sustainable development are with three specific goals: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Accordingly, the insights gleaned from this narrative review have been structured to reflect the connections with these three SDGs and related to the human- and systems-centric themes of People and Planet. Overall, sensitively applied urban agriculture can strengthen food security, reduce the overall impact of cities, and contribute to the circularity of production and consumption systems, helping to achieve global sustainable development aims.
AB - This review examines the potential role of urban agriculture – the practice of farming within and around cities and densely populated areas – in addressing the pressing challenge of sustainable development, correlated to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a set of 17 interconnected goals designed to guide action towards a sustainable and equitable future, the SDGs represent a call to action for all countries and highlight the most pressing challenges and opportunities of today. In recognising that the function and impacts of sustainably and equitably feeding the world's population are inherent to many of the goals, an interrogation of literature about food supply from within the urban environment (where most people live) has been conducted to support the research aim of considering urban agriculture as a strategy to help achieve urban sustainability and resilience goals. Through a narrative review approach this novel investigation extends beyond the constraints of narrow SDG-centric literature to sustainable development more broadly, finding that urban agriculture is highly valued for its ability to strengthen local food systems and its ecosystem service contributions to urban sustainability, along with socio-cultural attributes. This review depicts practices, highlights multifarious benefits, and features potential perverse outcomes and considerations; in the process identifying that the strongest and deepest connections between urban agriculture and sustainable development are with three specific goals: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Accordingly, the insights gleaned from this narrative review have been structured to reflect the connections with these three SDGs and related to the human- and systems-centric themes of People and Planet. Overall, sensitively applied urban agriculture can strengthen food security, reduce the overall impact of cities, and contribute to the circularity of production and consumption systems, helping to achieve global sustainable development aims.
KW - Circularity
KW - Food security
KW - Sustainable development
KW - Sustainable Development Goals
KW - Urban agriculture
KW - Urban sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105005453289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128861
DO - 10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128861
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:105005453289
SN - 1618-8667
VL - 110
JO - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
JF - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
M1 - 128861
ER -
