Urban agroecology is about sustainable food systems in the cities. “Historically agroecology as a discipline has focused on rural agroecosystems”, Resler explains, “but currently there are more people than ever living in the cities, and so in the last few years this new subfield of agroecology has emerged.”
Resler sees a lot of potential in urban agroecology. She describes it as a “transformative alternative to the current agriculture model that rejects the dependency of fossil fuels and rejects the consolidation of power”. There is a need to imagine and design new sustainable food systems that are built on principles such as food sovereignty, justice, resilience, diversity and social equity.
Resler sees that the main possibility of urban agroecology research is in making transformative change in the city region. She points out two ways of making the change. They are to investigate closer the institutional frameworks, which hold our current food system in place, and considering different options for how to transition from the current system towards new sustainable futures.
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Sustainability Research in Spotlight video series aims at opening up what sustainability research can be about. Sustainability science is inter- and transdisciplinary field of research covering a variety of research topics, approaches, and theories. The new HELSUS video series gives a voice to sustainability scientists and different perspectives of sustainability. We hope that these videos enlighten your autumn and give food for thought!