Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction
Course evaluation
Additional course evaluations for LK0395
Academic year 2024/2025
Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction (LK0395-40008)
2025-03-25 - 2025-06-08
Academic year 2023/2024
Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction (LK0395-40058)
2024-03-20 - 2024-06-02
Academic year 2022/2023
Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction (LK0395-40017)
2023-03-22 - 2023-06-04
Academic year 2021/2022
Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction (LK0395-40070)
2022-03-24 - 2022-06-05
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
LK0395 Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction, 15.0 Credits
Stadsodling och social interaktionSubjects
Horticultural Science Landscape Architecture Landscape Architecture Horticultural scienceEducation cycle
Bachelor’s levelModules
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Single module | 15.0 | 0101 |
Advanced study in the main field
First cycle, has at least 60 credits in first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsBachelor’s level (G2F)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
Knowledge equivalent to 60 credits in one of the following subjects:• architecture • landscape architecture • landscape planning • built environment • design • spatial planning • geography • landscape science • environmental science • civil engineering • biology • horticultural Science • agricultural Science
and
English B or equivalent.
The requirement for 60 credits in one of the above listed subjects is regarded as fulfilled by a student who has 15 credits in Food Studies at second cycle level.
Objectives
The course is interdisciplinary on the theme urban agriculture with a specialisation towards social and ecological sustainable development. The learning outcomes extend from a general society-oriented level to a more local and concrete plan for urban agriculture. On completion of the course, the student will be able to:
from a global perspective, explain certain basic relationships between sustainable urban development and how initiatives of urban agriculture take form in different parts of the world.
identify authentic examples of urban agriculture from their different possibilities and resources locally and problematise their relation to an urban planning.
understand and relate the importance of cultivation for the health and well-being of people and and as a catalyst for local commitment.
perform a site analysis that takes into consideration the identity of places, cultural values, the availability of the location and practical conditions for cultivation.
account for possible cultivation, distribution and storage systems in urban environment and be able to compare these from a resource and knowledge requirements and cultivation safety point of view.
have developed understanding of how different choices of small-scale cropping systems influence surrounding environment, biological diversity, ecosystem services and the human health.
have knowledge of communicative and educational tools within urban agriculture.
Content
The course is given as a series of themes, that each focus on one of the challenges charateristic of modern urban agriculture. The course is concluded with a synthesising project, in which the course themes are interrelated.
The contents extend from a general, society-oriented level to a more local and concrete level plan for urban agriculture. Common concepts and definitions within urban agriculture in Swedish and international conditions as well as development of urban agriculture in a historical perspective will be discussed. Starting from site analysis, which takes into consideration place identity, cultural values, the availability of the location and practical conditions for cultivation, understanding of the importance of cultivation for participation and human health and well-being and how choice of small-scale cropping systems influences surrounding environment, biological diversity and ecosystem services, will be developed.
Identified examples of urban agriculture will be analysed from their different possibilities and locally available resources, their relation to municipal administration and private property owners and if/how they can function as a catalyst for local commitment.
Knowledge about possible cultivation, distribution and storage systems in the urban environment will be discussed as well as plant protection strategies and cultivation safety.
Moreover, flow analysis and sustainable recirculation will be considered as well as the principles behind the choice of plant and animals for the sustainable agrosystem based on knowledge of resistance biology, ecosystem services and the multifunctionality of species. It is obligatory to participate in seminars.
The course contains lectures, literature studies, seminars, assignments that are carried out independently and in groups. Field studies and study visits are carried out to the extent possible depending on supply and circumstances.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
Examination consists of written and oral presentations. To pass the course, passed written and oral presentations and project work are required, and participation in compulsory parts.
If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Additional information
The course is directed to students on Horticultural Management, Horticultural Science, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Engineer, Agricultural and Rural Management Programmes, the Landscape Architecture – Master’s Programme and external students.Courses in Landscape Planning from SLU counts as Landscape Architecture when assessing qualifications.
Responsible department
Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management
Further information
Litterature list
Spring 2025
Literature LK0395
Urban Agriculture and Social Interaction
Theme: Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management
Compulsory
Viljoen, André & Bohn, Katrin (ed). (2014). Second Nature Urban Agriculture. Designing Productive Cities. New York, Routledge.
Zeunert, J., & Waterman, T. (Eds.). (2018). Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food (1st ed.). Routledge. Chapters 12 and 14. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315647692
Supplementary
Crane, A., Viswanathan, L., & Whitelaw, G. (2013). Sustainability through intervention: A case study of guerrilla gardening in Kingston, Ontario. Local Environment, 18(1), 71-90. Retrieved from www.scopus.com
Eizenberg, E. (2012). The changing meaning of community space: Two models of ngo management of community gardens in new york city. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 36(1), 106-120. Retrieved from www.scopus.com
Lawson, Laura J. (2005). City Bountiful – a century of community gardening in America. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press. (Accesible online and printed at Alnarp Library)
Saldivar-Tanaka, L., & Krasny, M. E. (2004). Culturing community development, neighborhood open space, and civic agriculture: The case of Latino community gardens in New York city. Agriculture and Human Values, 21(4), 399-412. Retrieved from www.scopus.com
Spirn, Ann W. (2005). Restoring Mill Creek: Landscape Literacy, Environmental Justice and City planning and Design. Landscape Research 30(3): 395-413.
van der Jagt, A. P. N., Szaraz, L. R., Delshammar, T., Cvejic, R., Santos, A., Goodness, J. & Buijs, A. (2017). Cultivating nature-based solutions: The governance of communal urban gardens in European Union. Environmental Research, 159, 264-275.
Theme: Plant Protection Biology
Suggested reading (case study)
Aguilera et al. 2019. Intensive management reduces butterfly diversity over time in urban green spaces. Urban Ecosystems 22: 335-344.
Baldock et al. 2019. A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 363-373.
Eilenberg et al. 2001. Suggestions for unifying the terminology in biological control. BioControl 46: 387-400.
Fiedler et al. 2008. Maximizing ecosystem services from conservation biological control: The role of habitat management: Biological Control 45: 254-271.
Gardarin et al. 2018. Understanding plant–arthropod interactions in multitrophic communities to improve conservation biological control: useful traits and metrics. Journal of Pest Science 91: 943-955.
Garbuzov & Ratnieks 2014. Quantifying variation among garden plants in attractiveness to bees and other flower-visiting insects. Functional Ecology 28: 364-374.
Goddard et al 2009. Scaling up from gardens: biodiversity conservation in urban environments. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25: 90-98.
Lin et al. 2015. The future of urban agriculture and biodiversity-ecosystem services: challenges and next steps. Basic and Applied Ecology 16: 189–201.
Lundin et al. 2019. Identifying native plants for coordinated habitat management of arthropod pollinators, herbivores, and natural enemies. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 665-676.
McDougall et al. 2019. Small-scale urban agriculture results in high yields but requires judicious management of inputs to achieve sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116: 129-134.
Paudel and States 2023. Urban green spaces and sustainability: exploring the ecosystem services and disservices of grassy lawns versus floral meadows. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 84: 127932
Pickett et al. 2001. Urban ecological systems: linking terrestrial, ecological, physical, and socioeconomic components of metropolitan areas. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32: 127-157.
Rundlöf et al. 2015. Seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide negatively affects wild bees. Nature 521: 77-80.
Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys 2019. Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers. Biological Conservation 232: 8-27.
Wenzela et al. 2019. How urbanization is driving pollinator diversity and pollination – A systematic review. Biological Conservation. In press, available on line.
Theme: People and Society
Compulsory
Hartig, T., van den Berg, E., Hagerhall, C.M., Tomalak, M., Bauer, N., Hansmann, R., Ojala, A., Syngollitou, E., Carrus, G., van herzele, A., Bell, S., Podesta, M.T.C. and Waaseth, G. (2011). Health Benefits of nature experience: Psychological, Social and Cultural Processes. In: Nilsson K., et al. (eds). Forest, Trees and Human Health. Springer Sciences+Business Media B.V.
McFarland, A., Waliczek, T.M., Coleman Etheredge,C. & Lillard, A.J.S (2018) Understanding Motivations for Gardening Using a Qualitative General Inductive Approach. HortTechnology, https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH03972-18
Nordh, H., Tuv Wiklund, K., Koppang, K. E. (2016). Norwegian allotment gardens – a study of motives and benefits. Landscape Research, published online 16 Feb 2016.
Pálsdóttir, A.M., O´Brien, L., Varning Poulsen, D. & Dolling, A. (2021). Exploring migrant’s sense of belonging through participation in an urban agricultural vocational training program in Sweden. Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, Volume XXXI, Issue 1.
Pálsdóttir, A.M., Shahrad, A., Åström, M. & Ekstam, L. (2018). Nature-based vocational rehabilitation for migrants participating in the national scheme of integration. Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture. Volume XXVIII, Issue II. ISSN 2381-5337
Relf, D.P. & Lohr, V. (2003). Human Issue in Horticulture. HortSience, Vol. 38(5) August.
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hih/conf.asp
Wells, N., Jimenez, F. E. & Mårtensson, F. (2018). Chapter 6.1: Children and nature, pp 167-176. In: van den Bosch, M., Bird, W. (Eds.). The role of nature in improving the health of a population. Oxford Textbooks in Public Health.
Theme: Biosystems and Technology
Compulsory
Alsanius, B. W., Kosiba Held, A., Dorais, M., Onyango, C. M. & Mogren, L. (2017). Produce quality and safety. In: Orsini, F. Dubbeling, M. & Gianquinto, G. (eds.) Rooftop Urban Agriculture. New York: Springer, pp. 195-216
Santo, R., Palmer, A., Brent, K. (2016). Vacant Lots to Vibrant Plots: A Review of the Benefits and Limitations of Urban Agriculture. CLF Publications.
Reference literature
van Bueren, E., van Bohemevi, H., Itard, L., Visscher, V. (2012). Sustainable Urban Environments. An Ecosystem Approach. Heidelberg, Springer.