THE ROLE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN THE MORE RESILIENT URBAN DISCOURSE

The multifunctionality of urban agriculture can help to solve many contemporary urban challenges. This paper is a contribution to the academic studies on urban agriculture practices as scientific information. Urban agriculture has been supported by governments throughout history, during World War I and World War II. It has been found to contribute to more sustainable and resilient urban communities, due to its key role in the implementation of circular economy strategies at the city level, closing energy loops, restoring natural cycles and ecological ecosystem services. It can certainly contribute to food sovereignty and the formation of new educational citizenship strategies. Through a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages in the application of urban agriculture, as well as the differences in developed and developing countries, recommendations for future implementation and correction of negative aspects were formulated. Existing academic studies pay relatively less attention to the identification of challenges, overall benefits of urban agriculture and government support. Reliance on the dichotomy between civil organizations and profit-oriented public institutions in neoliberalization processes needs to be reconsidered. Since urban agriculture relies heavily on local factors, more study of the opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture in different socio-economic contexts and different farming models could be more useful to link agricultural practices in cities with urban planning.