The Recent Development of Urban Agriculture in Japan: Urban Planning and Alternative Food Movements

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Higson, Julia Madelaine
Area of Honors:
Geography
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Karl Stephen Zimmerer, Thesis Supervisor
Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Japan
Urban Agriculture
Planning
Land Use
Geography
Alternative Food Movements
Abstract:
Cities in Japan are characterized by a mosaic patchwork of urban and agricultural land use that has developed through the combination of national planning efforts and alternative food movements. Japan has been largely unsuccessful in its attempts to conform to Western planning ideas of zoned land use, and this has created the conditions for mixed land use seen in urban areas today. In addition, while agricultural land use has been a part of Japanese cities for hundreds of years, alternative food movements such as the teikei organic movement and the chisan chisho local movement have given a new purpose to urban agriculture. These movements began in urban areas before spreading to the rest of Japan, and they are still mainly concentrated in cities today. To many, the inability of the Japanese government to establish a clear distinction between urban and agricultural landscapes has been viewed as a failure. However, small scale agricultural landscapes can in fact benefit Japanese cities by building resilience to natural disasters, promoting food security, providing ecosystem services and revitalizing shrinking and aging cities. This thesis examines the recent development of urban agriculture by considering planning, alternative food movements and the role of agriculture in Japanese cities today. There are key lessons to be learned from Japan’s unconventional urban landscapes, and recognizing the potentials of mixed land use can help prepare cities around the world to address and adapt to the environmental and social challenges of the twenty-first century.