The politics of urban agriculture

This chapter explores food production and urban agriculture (UA) as a set of fundamentally political practices, both in terms of their role in neoliberal governance and &s;sustainability&s; policy-making, and also as objects of contestation. Urban agriculture&s;s renaissance over the past decade has been accompanied by a groundswell of new UA organizations, projects, media attention and scholarship. The geographic literature on neoliberal urban restructuring of the post-industrial Global North city can help us relate UA motivations and practices to processes of urbanization. Drawing on agrarian political economy, scholars demonstrate how alternative food networks, including UA and other "interstitial food spaces", arise from political economic restructuring. While Portland and Vancouver are both known for their green infrastructure, policies and lifestyles, they have different economies, social histories, demographics and regulatory frameworks. The Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House is a community services centre in a low-income neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia.