RUAF and INSUAH (Integrated Study on Urban Agriculture as Heritage) call for article proposals for the upcoming issue of Urban Agriculture Magazine: History and Heritage – learning from the past for a sustainable future (UAM #42).
Heritage plays a crucial role in shaping sustainable urban agriculture (UA) practices, offering valuable insights from traditional methods and historical contexts. UA, intertwined with heritage, provides both a wealth of local knowledge and an opportunity for community-driven resource management. The social organization and cultural practices of heritage communities contribute essential perspectives to contemporary agricultural practices.
This special issue invites contributions that explore the intersection of UA and Heritage (H), including a focus on urban Indigenous and traditional communities. We aim to investigate how traditional agricultural knowledge can be integrated into modern practices, challenging universal or global heritage approaches and proposing inclusive and innovative models for sustainable UA.
We invite authors to propose articles that explore the following themes:
- The role of heritage in urban and peri-urban agricultural systems: Contributions that describe how heritage-based agricultural systems can balance modernization with the preservation of traditional practices, addressing both innovation and conservation.
- Living local heritage in urban agriculture: Case studies showcasing UA initiatives rooted in local heritage and exploring the sustainable heritagization of agricultural sites.
- Futurizing traditional UA sites: Articles on approaches that connect traditional agricultural knowledge with forward-thinking, sustainable practices to create future-oriented solutions.
- A two-sided heritage approach: Discussion on the balance between local, living heritage sites and global/universal heritage approaches, and how both can benefit UA.
- Motives and public funding in heritage-driven UA initiatives: Investigation of the motivations behind heritage-driven urban agriculture projects and how public funding supports or challenges these efforts.
- Post-colonial food narratives: Case studies examining how the interpretation of colonial histories shape urban agriculture through adopted food practices, including examples.
Additionally, we encourage contributions that:
- showcase urban agricultural practices: Focusing on contemporary practices that are rooted in or inspired by heritage, demonstrating how UA draws from cultural traditions.
- engage with UA in heritage areas: Exploring how urban agriculture negotiates its place in areas of urban significance and heritage value.
- demonstrate ordinary local heritage’s role in sustainable solutions: Highlighting how everyday, locally-driven heritage can contribute to sustainable urban food systems, focusing on living local heritage cases rather than high-profile global examples.
- explore culturally and economically inclusive circular economy models: Presenting models that incorporate inclusive practices and circular economy principles in UA.
- highlight the role of resilient food systems, particularly those rooted in indigenous and traditional agroforestry practices, in fostering sustainability.
We are seeking diverse global perspectives on how heritage can inform and enrich urban agricultural practices, contributing to a sustainable, inclusive, and culturally respectful future.
We invite authors from interdisciplinary fields such as urban studies, heritage conservation, anthropology, environmental studies, planning and agriculture to submit proposals for articles for this special issue.
Proposals should be up to 400 words and include an outline of the article subject and take-away messages. Please also indicate preferred length of final article, if accepted (700 words; 1500 words; or 2000 words). A short introduction paragraph should explain the site’s urban trajectory. Besides 1-3 figures or pictures, each contribution should include a map or an aerial image to illustrating the spatial characteristics of the site. As an alternative, a meaningful figure to illustrate the core message is also ok. This issue is also open to other formats like photo stories, infographics, interviews, book reviews
- Deadline for proposal submission: March 10th 2025
- Submit to: Katharina Christenn (insuah@la.rwth-aachen.de) and Jess Halliday (j.halliday@ruaf.org)
- Please use ‘UAM42 proposal’ in the subject line.
If accepted, full articles will be required by May 19th 2025.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and engaging in a collective effort to rethink urban agriculture through the lens of heritage.
