The socio-spatial development of Urban and Periurban Agriculture (UPA) in the municipality of Fortaleza, Ceará (Brazil)

an analysis of the initiatives adopted by the local authorities

Abstract

The present study investigated the socio-spatial development of Urban and Periurban Agriculture (UPA) in Fortaleza (Ceará), Brazil, based on two complementary approaches: the analysis of the spontaneous and spatial dimensions of the agricultural activities themselves, and the investigation of the institutional dimension, based on an evaluation of the intervention of the municipal government. The first approach was based on a survey of secondary data, together with the collection of some primary data, while the second approach was based on a documentary analysis of the plans and projects of the municipal government, together with interviews of representative of the municipal agencies involved in the initiative. The results of the study highlighted the importance of agricultural activities in the municipality, in particular, in peripheral and periurban areas, however, the governmental support was extremely limited and discontinuous, with no systematic agenda being established at a local level. Despite the recent initiatives of the municipal government directed toward the development of urban agriculture, then, the activity is supported weakly and inconsistently in legal and institutional terms. One clear effect of this scenario is the rapid disappearance of the urban agricultural spaces within the municipality in recent years, which emphasize the limitations of the institutional measures, which have not supported effectively the socio-spatial development of spontaneous initiatives.

Keywords: Urban and Periurban Agriculture. Socio-spatial development. Urban planning.