Core members of this network have collaborated since 2006 on different projects, but have never been able to bring their experience together to significantly advance practice and research.  The network has been established to meet three key objectives. 1) To define policy pathways that create the conditions allowing for innovation and development in urban design and food systems.  2) To deepen and extend a growing impact on urban transformations from arts and design led multidisciplinary practice that is beginning to explore the role of urban agriculture within productive urban landscapes. 3) To develop and promote innovative methods for bridging design and policy development in the context of cross disciplinary working, and identifying outstanding questions in relation to productive urban landscape research and education.

Context:

Urban areas face urgent challenges due to pressures on resources and the environment. Ever increasing urbanisation squeezes open urban space and planted landscapes as the density of cities increases. And yet, urban agriculture is rapidly re-emerging in cities across the world in response to concerns over resources, environment, wellbeing and food systems. This has resulted in the creation of a new re multifunctional urban space type that includes urban agriculture as a major element - productive urban landscapes.

In Europe the development of productive urban landscapes has often been led by artists and designers including as a design concept e.g. Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) research,  live practice based research e.g. R-Urban, and by students e.g. The RIBA President's Medals Student Awards. As the demand for, and number of, these spaces increase urban environments are being transformed e.g. Carrot City. Practice is outstripping policy and consequently policy makers are not creating the conditions to allow for innovation and development in urban design and food systems.  City authorities are now urgently seeking guidance on how to develop policy to accommodate more sustainable urban food systems e.g. sustainablefoodcities.org.

About this website:

New material from recent research findings is being edited to appear on these pages. For information on the most recent developments, do contact Andre Viljoen at: a.viljoen@brighton.ac.uk

The aim of this website is to invite participation from as wide a field as possible and to disseminate information about the Urban Transformations Network. The Network will hold two workshops and a policy seminar and material related to these will be added to the website as they occur, please click on the relevant link for further information.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the network’s activities or this web site should contact Andre Viljoen at: a.viljoen@brighton.ac.uk

The UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council have funded this network and it will run from October 2014 to March 2015.