Bridging the Policy Gap: Integrating Urban Agriculture into Disaster Preparedness for Urban Food Resilience in Wellington, New Zealand

Natural disasters can severely disrupt food access and availability in the short term and undermine food system stability in the long term. In response, there is growing global attention to building more resilient food systems, including through localised food production. Urban agriculture (UA), as an integral part of local food systems, has historically played a role in responding to crises and disasters. However, many cities lack comprehensive planning for food systems in post-disaster contexts, particularly regarding the integration of UA into disaster preparedness and urban planning frameworks. Using Wellington City, New Zealand, as a case study, this paper examines how post-disaster food security and UA are addressed within existing policy frameworks, identifying policy gaps and opportunities for strengthening urban food resilience. A strategic scan of policy documents across three domains—food systems, disaster preparedness, and UA—was conducted. Findings indicate that Wellington's existing food system and disaster preparedness policy frameworks do not adequately address post-disaster food security. Disaster planning does not adequately recognise the need to address food security, and the potential role of UA as a strategy for post-disaster food resilience remains underdeveloped and only partially acknowledged within existing policy documents. Based on these findings, this study proposes policy pathways for Wellington, including strengthening UA governance and more systematically integrating UA into disaster preparedness, food system policies, and urban planning frameworks. The findings highlight the potential role of cross-sectoral policy integration in strengthening urban food resilience, with implications for other disaster-prone cities.