Urban Agriculture

mariomgckStephanie Dunbar1

1English teacher

May 21, 2013

Centro de Investigación

en Matemáticas, A.C.

De�nition

Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing, anddistributing food in or around a village, town, or city. Urbanagriculture can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture,agroforestry, and horticulture. These activities also occur inperi-urban areas as well.

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History

I Chinampa is a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculturewhich used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable landto grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico.

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History

I In Machu Picchu, water was conserved and reused as part ofthe stepped architecture of the city, and vegetable beds weredesigned to gather sun in order to prolong the growing season.

Figure: Machu Picchu terrace (agriculture).

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Objectives

I Food security. Increase the amount of food available topeople living in cities.

I Food quality. Provide to urban consumers fresh vegetables,fruits, and meat products free of pesticides, hormones, growthpromoters, antibiotics, etc.

I Sustainable agriculture. Make the most e�cient use ofnon-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate,where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.

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Advantages

I Scalability. The systems could be designed on a small ormedium scale, adapting their production to di�erent conditionsof availability of space.

I Health Quality. Enhance the quality of life for farmers andsociety as a whole.

I Recreativity. Family recreation and relaxation in a naturalaesthetics space.

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Modalities

(a) Urban Farming (b) Roof gardens

(c) Vertical gardens (d) Recreativity

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Modalities

(e) Aquaculture of tilapia (f) Aquaponics

(g) Urban Worm Compost-ing (Vermicompost)

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Roof garden in Mexico

The supermarket Superama Horacio, Polanco, in Mexico city has asystem for capturing rainwater, which is used in its daily operations,reducing potable water consumption. Its desing permits the use ofthe same water to irrigate the roof.

Figure: Superama Roof garden.

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Aquaculture of tilapia

Tilapia has become the third most important �sh in aquacultureafter carp and salmon. Tilapia �sheries originated in Africa andcurrently worldwide production exceeded 3,497,391 metric tons in2010 and increases annually.

Figure: Floating surface cages.

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Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combinesa traditional aquaculture with hydroponics (cultivating plants inwater) in a symbiotic environment. México began research in thisarea seven years ago. The aquaculture department of CICESE hasdesigned a system that combines strawberry production and tilapia.

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Vermicompost

Vermicompost is the product or process of composting usingvarious worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and otherearthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposingvegetable or food waste, bedding materials.

Figure: Mexican vermicompost. Ivonne Escobedo, Mayra López yDeyanira Escobedo, asociación civil Organización para la AtenciónCiudadana.

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Mexican projects

The Government of Mexico city signed a trade agrement in 2010with the agriculture department (SAGARPA), which includes aninvestment of 105 million pesos to boost farm production projects,farmers and small industrial city dwellers.

Figure: Urban Farming.Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas 13/16

Organizations

Sembradores Urbanos is a civil organization based in Mexico City,Mexico, which promotes urban agriculture, o�ering materials,seeds, and training workshops. It has a demonstration center, theCenter for Urban Agriculture Romita, which opened in 2007 as the�rst urban agricultural community space in Mexico.

Click into the picture to watch the video in youtube.

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References

I http://www.uaaan.mx/postgrado/index.php/contactos.html

I http://artenlazotea.mx/

I http://www.metrohuerto.com/

I http://agriculturaurbanamexico.blogspot.mx/

I

http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx/saladeprensa/boletines2/paginas/2011B145.aspx

I http://www.huertoromita.com/

I http://www.comuntierra.org/site/index.php

I http://www.eco-esfera.mx/

I http://www.fao.org/fcit/upa/en/

I http://www.pptbackgroundstemplates.com/nature/523-agriculture-and-�oriculture-backgrounds.html

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References

I http://www.backtotheroots.com/

I http://aquaponicsassociation.org/

I http://www.eluniversaltv.com.mx/detalle.php?d=24553

I http://www.tilapiademexico.org/

I http://www.funprover.org

I

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2008/04/15/index.php?section=ciencias&article=a02n1cie

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