Urban Agriculture is an activity that develops within the limits of the cities or around them, competing for resources and aiming at the fulfilment of the needs of the urban population. The motivations of the urban farmers are diverse and dependent on the surrounding social context. In an unprecedented scenario in the history of humanity regarding the urbanisation of spaces and societies, agriculture can significantly contribute towards food security, towards the improvement and diversification of diets, towards the attenuation of poverty situations and consequent social integration, towards the improvement of the quality of life and the harmonisation of the urban environment.
Urban Agriculture is generally practised in small or very small areas, in abandoned plots, rooftops, or even in plastic containers or containers made from other materials. Production is generally for self consumption, exchange/offer and commercialisation in the informal and short circuits. Urban Agriculture appears, many times, as an answer to periods or situations of economic crisis, unemployment and under-employment, of low salaries and fragile or non-existent social security systems, and can contribute towards the reinforcement of the family income and towards the social integration of the people of the disfavoured fringes of urban society.
But due to the high degree of intensification of this activity, the eventual prior use of the soils for other ends and the proximity of pollution and contamination focuses, there are associated risks that are worth considering and preventing. The need for the development of actions is thus born, aiming at the planning of these spaces and the practices used, through the use of methodologies and strategies that promote sustainability. The organisation of this Seminar aims to bring to discussion all these aspects, bringing together in one event various realities, conceptions and projects regarding urban agriculture.