OOS 10 - Urban agriculture as a nature-based solution for water quality, heat mitigation, health and wellbeing, and a circular economy: Opportunities and tradeoffs

Organizer(s)

• GM

  Geneviève Metson

  Theoretical Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

Co-Organizer(s)

• GS

  Gaston Small

  University of St Thomas (MN)
  St. Paul, MN, United States

Moderator(s)

• GM

  Geneviève Metson

  Theoretical Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

Cities around the world are increasingly incorporating nature-based solutions, also called urban ecological infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure, for their multiple benefits. Urban agriculture is increasingly being framed as a nature-based solution because of posited social (e.g., community building and food security), health (e.g. reducing stress, improving mental health and cardiometabolic outcomes), and ecological (e.g. greening and nutrient recycling) benefits. Agriculture, in the city or in rural areas, dramatically affects water flows as well as nutrient cycling, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. In an urban context, agriculture can be in a privileged position to increase circular nutrient flows by reusing organic waste streams such as food and plant waste to meet crop nutrient needs. In other words, compost applied to urban farms and gardens creates opportunities to recycle waste nutrients back into the human food system. These compost-rich garden soils may have high infiltration rates contributing to stormwater retention, and gardens may have high evapotranspiration rates helping to mitigate urban heat island effects. However, over-application of nutrients in urban gardens can also result in nutrient export through leachate and runoff, which in turn has the potential to lead to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms with implications for ecological and human health. The potential ecological benefits and drawbacks of urban agriculture related to organic waste and water management are not clear-cut. This session will draw on field work, literature review, and modelling work to explore how urban agriculture in different cities contributes to organic material recycling and the delivery (or retention) of nutrients and other substances towards waterways. We will also explore how urban agriculture as a nature-based solution interacts with public health outcomes.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 8:15 AM EDT

  Environmental benefits of urban agriculture take time to accrue
  

  Presenting Author: Benjamin Goldstein, PhD – McGill University

  Co-author: Jason Hawes – University of Michigan

  Co-author: Erica Dorr – AgroParisTech

  Co-author: Chris Blythe – Social Farms and Gardens UK

  Co-author: Silvio Caputo – University of Kent

  Co-author: Nevin Cohen – City University of New York

  Co-author: Agnès Fargue-Lelièvre – AgroParisTech

  Co-author: Runrid Fox-Kämper – ILS - Research Institute for Urban and Rural Development

  Co-author: Lilliane Jean-Soro – Université Gustave Eiffel

  Co-author: Lidia Poniży – Adam Mickiewicz University

  Co-author: Victoria Schoen – University of Hertfordshire

  Co-author: Kathrin Specht – ILS - Research Institute for Urban Development
• 8:15 AM – 8:30 AM EDT

  Learning from on- and off-farm urban agriculture studies: exploring the role of experimental design in variability and insights from nitrate and phosphate leaching studies
  

  Presenting Author: Jennifer Nickley – University of Minnesota

  Co-author: Gaston E. Small – University of St Thomas (MN)

  Co-author: Nic A. Jelinski – University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

  Co-author: Kat LaBine – University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
• 8:30 AM – 8:45 AM EDT

  Modeling the potential contributions of urban agroforestry to a more circular economy in Rhode Island, USA
  

  Presenting Author: John Taylor, PhD – University of California Berkeley

  Co-author: Nina Oberg – University of Rhode Island
• 8:45 AM – 9:00 AM EDT

  Quantifying nutrient losses from Urban Agriculture in Linköping, Sweden
  

  Presenting Author: Paulien C. H. van de vlasakker – Linköping University

  Co-author: Paulien C. H. van de vlasakker – Linköping University

  Co-author: Geneviève S. Metson – Theoretical Biology, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

  Co-author: Karin Tonderski – Linköping University

  Co-author: Gaston E. Small – University of St Thomas (MN)
• 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM EDT

  Green roof technology in urban agriculture: lessons learned in the last decade
  

  Presenting Author: Leigh Whittinghill, PhD – The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
• 9:15 AM – 9:30 AM EDT

  Pathways to well-being through urban community gardening: Reduced fear of crime in Flint, MI
  

  Presenting Author: Katherine Alaimo, PhD – Michigan State University

  Co-Author: Julie O. Allen, PhD, MPH – University of Oklahoma

  Co-Author: Yalu Wen, PhD – University of Auckland

  Co-Author: Thomas M. Reischl – University of Michigan School of Public Health

  Co-Author: Pete Hutchison – Hands4Peace LLC

  Co-Author: Ashley Atkinson – Keep Growing Detroit