Call for Contributions to a book on “Urban Agricultural Heritage”
The Institute of Landscape Architecture, in cooperation with Volkswagen Foundation,
is calling for contributions for the research and practice book “Urban Agricultural Heritage”.
This book project will be the first comprehensive approach to the phenomenon of Urban Agricultural Heritage and will be the first to deliver a global survey of projects and initiatives dealing with traditional forms of food production in cities. Become a part of it!
New perspectives on the development of Urban Agricultural Heritage
Given the global challenges of urbanisation and limited resources, Urban Agriculture has become an important tool for the sustainable planning of cities since the turn of the Millennium. However, it is still not widely understood that Urban Agriculture is not a new discipline, but one with a long-established history. In many parts of the world, the benefits of agricultural heritage are not fully appreciated with regard to its unique, irreplaceable values and it is thus sometimes neglected or even destroyed.
We aim to frame the issue of Urban Agricultural Heritage in the planned publication. It will be informed by the knowledge, discussions, insights, the questions posed and the lessons learnt from the International Herrenhausen Conference „Urban Agricultural Heritage and the Shaping of Future Cities“ organised in Hannover in May 2019, by RWTH Institute of Landscape Architecture and funded by Volkswagen Foundation.
The book will reflect ongoing changes and new strategies for dealing with Urban Agricultural Heritage. Case studies will show examples, including how food production systems with heritage value can be developed and reframed as contributions towards the sustainable cities of the future. Scientists, experts from international organisations and civil society representatives will approach the theme from different perspectives leading to a better understanding and increased academic awareness of the agricultural heritage of cities. Based upon this, the book will look towards the future of Urban Agriculture and will elaborate new perspectives for research and management in the field worldwide.
Strands for contributions
The book will adopt a mixed blend of theory-based and case-based chapters and will be divided into two main strands:
- A text based „theory strand” will provide the reader with a rich theoretical basis on definition and framing as well as on the management and development of Urban Agricultural Heritage. The chapters within the strand will be text based with few figures. All contributions will follow a strategic, semi-standardised structure to explore the specific features and future potential of Urban Agricultural Heritage.
- An illustration based „case study strand” will show examples of Urban Agricultural Heritage worldwide and approaches to handling transformation processes. These chapters will exemplify the knowledge about Urban Agricultural Heritage. They will include extensive illustrations, to visualise the richness and beauty of Urban Agricultural Heritage, as well as the challenges it faces and potential solutions.
Contribute a chapter
Are you working in the field of Urban Agricultural Heritage or perhaps with a focus on theoretical research? Are you dealing with exemplary Urban Agricultural Heritage sites or even developing pilot projects for their conservation? We are calling for contributions towards both strands of the book.Download the Call for Contribution (PDF) for further information on abstracts, contents, editors and contact persons.
Please send your extended abstract on your either theoretical or case study-based paper till 17th of February 2020 to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Lohrberg.