sustainability Article Food for Thought: Addressing Urban Food Security Risks through Urban Agriculture Jorinda Steenkamp 1 , Elizelle Juanee Cilliers 1,2,*, Sarel Stephanus Cilliers 1 and Louis Lategan 1 1 Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa;
[email protected] (J.S.);
[email protected] (S.S.C.);
[email protected] (L.L.) 2 Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Food and nutrition security has been neglected in the planning field for reasons of a lack of connection between food and planning and the perception that agricultural activities have no place in the modernizing world. However, considering increasing climate change impacts and implications on industrialized agriculture, there is a clear need to establish shorter, more sustainable agricultural production practices and food supply chains. Urban agriculture is proposed as a potential method of intervention for planners to support sustainable food production and supply chains. The paper utilized a multiple-case study design to analyze four best practice examples of urban agriculture in the Global South to uncover its potential to address food security associated risks and contribute to sustainable development objectives. The results delivered evidence of the potential to harness the multifunctionality of urban agriculture to not only improve the food security of the most at-risk populations, but to also address other urban risks such as unemployment, community decline and food deserts. The recommendations for this paper relate to establishing a food security department, mapping and encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, creating land uses and zonings Citation: Steenkamp, J.; Cilliers, E.J.; specific to urban agriculture and to utilize its multifunctionality to address other urban risks.