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EXPLORING BARRIERS to and OPPORTUNITIES for URBAN AGRICULTURE in Bristol, United Kingdom

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EXPLORING BARRIERS to and OPPORTUNITIES for URBAN AGRICULTURE in Bristol, United Kingdom EXPLORING BARRIERS TO AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE in Bristol, United Kingdom Emma Hetherington January 2017 1 Exploring Barriers to and Opportunities for Urban Agriculture in Bristol, United Kingdom. ‘The single greatest lesson the garden teaches us is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people can still plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.’ - Michael Pollan Emma Hetherington Groningen, December 2016 Master Thesis - MSc Environmental and Infrastructure Planning Faculty of Spatial Sciences University of Groningen The Netherlands Supervised by: Dr Katharina Gugerell 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Primarily, I would like to thank my supervisor for her support through this research process; your advice and support has been invaluable. Secondly, I am deeply grateful to all those who took time out of their busy lives to assist me with this research by taking part in various interviews. Without these brilliant individuals, this thesis would not have been possible. 3 ABSTRACT As a fundamental starting point, this study recognizes the central role that food now plays in the increasingly interrelated fields of climate, water, land, labour and physical and mental health. Taking previous studies into account that hark the social, environmental, economic and health benefits of UA to communities, this research explores the current state of UA in Bristol, UK, in an attempt to highlight the barriers to and opportunities for growth. Asking the question of why UA develops, this study initially explores previous research concerning AFNs, and the characteristics of quality, SFSCs, and social and territorial embeddedness. This study then goes on to highlight the diverse ways in which UA has developed practically across the city. Barriers to the growth of UA are noted, with the largest of all being the economic and political climate in which these projects operate. Finally, participants’ suggestions of opportunities to overcome these barriers are discussed. 4 LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ACRONYMS TABLES Table 1 Selection of Urban Agriculture Projects p.24 Table 2 Data Collection Methods p.35 Table 3 Non-UA Participant Organisations p.37 Table 4 Participating UA Projects p.38-39 Table 5 Social Construction of Projects p.40 Table 6 Variety of Products p.42 Table 7 Routes to Market p.43 Table 8 Type of SFSC p.45 Table 9 Prevalence of Organic Principles and Reference to Quality p.46 Table 10 Areas used by UA Projects p.50 Table 11 Central Aims of UA Projects p.56 Table 12 Overview of Social Outcomes p.57 Table 13 Overview of Environmental Outcomes p.57 Table 14 Overview of Economic Outcomes p.57 Table 15 Hopes for the Future p.58 Table 16 Additional income combinations p.61 Table 17 Success Strategies p.64-65 FIGURES Figure 1 The link between AFNs and UA p.12 Figure 2 Conventional/Alternative Food System Spectrum p.18 Figure 3 Central Dimensions of UA p.19 Figure 4 Research process p.32 Figure 5 Location of Bristol in UK p.34 Figure 6 Point of Information Saturation p.35 Figure 7 Location of Projects p.49 Figure 8 Scale of Projects p.50 ACRONYMS UA Urban Agriculture UK United Kingdom DEFRA Departments for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs AFN Alternative Food Network SFSC Short Food Supply Chain WW2 World War Two BFP Bristol Food Producers BFPC Bristol Food Policy Council EU European Union PVQ Portrait Value Questionnaire 5 DEFINING TERMS URBAN AGRICULTURE – ‘located within (intra-urban) or on the fringe (peri-urban) of a town, city or metropolis, which grows and raises, processes and distributes a diversity of food and non- food products, (re)-using largely human and material resources, products and services found in and around that urban area, and in turn supplying human and material resources, products and services largely to that urban area’ (Mougeot, 2000, p. 10). ALTERNATIVE FOOD NETWORK – a system of interconnected people and practices engaged with the production and consumption of food. Characterized by the prevalence of short food supply chains, a focus on quality, territorial embeddedness and social embeddedness (Author, 2016). SHORT FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN - food provisioning systems that prioritize a value-laden understanding of the whole supply chain of the product, and a minimization of links between the producer and consumer (Ilbery and Maye, 2005). TERRITORIAL EMBEDDEDNESS – the marriage of product to place (Hinrichs, 2003). SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS – a situation where economic behavior is integrated with and mediated by an extensive network of social relations (Hinrichs, 2003; Tovey, 2003). OPPORTUNITY – a set of circumstances that make it possible to achieve something; a good chance for advancement or progress (Merriam-Webster, 2016). BARRIER – a material or institutional structure or set of circumstances that prevents or hinders movement or action (Merriam-Webster, 2016). 6 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................................................................. 3 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .................................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................... 5 DEFINING TERMS.............................................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Taking a British Perspective ......................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Societal and Research Relevance ................................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Introducing Alternative Food Networks ....................................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Short Food Supply Chains ...................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.2 A Focus on Quality .................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1.3 Territorial Embeddedness .................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.4 Social Embeddedness .............................................................................................................................. 16 2.1.5 Somewhere on the Spectrum ............................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Central Dimensions of Urban Agriculture ................................................................................. 19 2.2.1 Location ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.2.2 Scale ................................................................................................................................................................ 20 2.2.3 Areas ............................................................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.4 Social Construction ................................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.5 Products ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 2.2.6 Destination ................................................................................................................................................... 22 2.1.2 Making Sense of Diversity...................................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Benefits and Critique of Urban Agriculture ............................................................................... 25 2.3.1 Social .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 2.3.2 Ecosystem Services .................................................................................................................................. 25 2.3.3 Economic...................................................................................................................................................... 27 2.3.4 Health ............................................................................................................................................................ 27 2.4 Barriers and Opportunities ............................................................................................................ 29 2.4.1 Land Acquisition ......................................................................................................................................
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