Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)

There has been a growing literature on alternative food networks (AFNs); structures that reconfigure the systems of production, distribution and consumption of food. Part of this literature emphasises the local scale and the idea of proximity. In a world that is increasingly urban, AFNs at a local s...

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Main Authors: Paϋl, V., McKenzie, Fiona Haslam
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5713
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author Paϋl, V.
McKenzie, Fiona Haslam
author_facet Paϋl, V.
McKenzie, Fiona Haslam
author_sort Paϋl, V.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description There has been a growing literature on alternative food networks (AFNs); structures that reconfigure the systems of production, distribution and consumption of food. Part of this literature emphasises the local scale and the idea of proximity. In a world that is increasingly urban, AFNs at a local scale can be more easily developed by linking peri-urban farmlands and cities. However, agriculture in the rural–urban fringe struggles to survive in the face of urban pressures and sprawl; a process which undermines viable agricultural production in the city's countryside. A widely used strategy to address these pressures has been farmland protection, undertaken in different ways depending on the legal framework of particular countries. This paper considers farmland conservation and AFNs development issues through a case-study of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park (BLAP) in metropolitan Barcelona. It concludes that AFNs in peri-urban areas are only possible if farmland preservation is guaranteed, and that the former does not come as a direct consequence of the latter. The specific conditions in which both can occur will be of interest for scholars as well as policy-makers and planners.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-57132019-02-19T05:34:53Z Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) Paϋl, V. McKenzie, Fiona Haslam Alternative food networks Farmland protection Metropolitan area of Barcelona Peri-urban agriculture Land-use policy There has been a growing literature on alternative food networks (AFNs); structures that reconfigure the systems of production, distribution and consumption of food. Part of this literature emphasises the local scale and the idea of proximity. In a world that is increasingly urban, AFNs at a local scale can be more easily developed by linking peri-urban farmlands and cities. However, agriculture in the rural–urban fringe struggles to survive in the face of urban pressures and sprawl; a process which undermines viable agricultural production in the city's countryside. A widely used strategy to address these pressures has been farmland protection, undertaken in different ways depending on the legal framework of particular countries. This paper considers farmland conservation and AFNs development issues through a case-study of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park (BLAP) in metropolitan Barcelona. It concludes that AFNs in peri-urban areas are only possible if farmland preservation is guaranteed, and that the former does not come as a direct consequence of the latter. The specific conditions in which both can occur will be of interest for scholars as well as policy-makers and planners. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5713 10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.02.009 Pergamon fulltext
spellingShingle Alternative food networks
Farmland protection
Metropolitan area of Barcelona
Peri-urban agriculture
Land-use policy
Paϋl, V.
McKenzie, Fiona Haslam
Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title_full Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title_fullStr Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title_full_unstemmed Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title_short Peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: Insights from a case-study area in metropolitan Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain)
title_sort peri-urban farmland conservation and development of alternative food networks: insights from a case-study area in metropolitan barcelona (catalonia, spain)
topic Alternative food networks
Farmland protection
Metropolitan area of Barcelona
Peri-urban agriculture
Land-use policy
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5713