Urban Agriculture as a Catalyst for Revitalization Processes in Residential Districts of European Cities. The Case of Anderlecht, Roeselare and Romainville

Kleszcz, Justyna

doi:10.2478/acee-2024-0027

Figures & Tables

Location of facilities at a city scale. Authors’ elaboration

Functional analysis of selected cases. Functional distribution on different levels (left) and a chart showing the distribution of floor area by functional groups. Authors’ elaboration based on [10, 60, 61]

Functional analysis of the area of the Anderlecht district, Cureghem within 1km of the Abattoir BIGH farm. Authors’ elaboration based on site research and [63]

Functional analysis of the area of Roeselare within 1km of the Agrotopia farm. Authors’ elaboration based on site research and [65]

Functional analysis of the area of Romainville near Paris within 1km of the La Cité Maraîchère farm. Authors’ elaboration based on on-site research and [68]

Accessibility analysis for selected cases. Authors’ elaboration

The goals of revitalisation were achieved in selected implementations_ Authors’ elaboration

The goals of revitalisation	Agrotopia	La Cité Maraîchère	Abattoir BIGH
urban and architectural
renovation/modernisation	•	∘	•
conscious development of the cultural landscape	∘	•	•
technical
improving the quality of road infrastructure	∘	•	•
improving the quality of technical infrastructure	•	•	•
social
stopping the development of negative social trends	∘	•	•
counteracting pathologies and social exclusion	•	•	•
improving the state of security	∘	•	•
economical
promotion of entrepreneurship	•	•	•
development of tourism	∘	∘	∘
implementation of commercial projects	•	•	•
environmental
improvement of the state of the natural environment	•	•	•
elimination of pollution and emissions	•	•	•

Functional analysis of selected cases_ Author’s elaboration

area [sqm]	Agrotopia (Inagro)	La Cité Maraîchère	Abattoir BIGH
floor area/non-agricultural/	170	98	1.051
communication	221	305	568
indoor agriculture	5.307	1.213	1.321
agriculture/communication	379	234	1.654
technical area	2.338	473	46
publicly-opened area	2.443	333	337
SIMPLIFIED TOTAL AREA (including construction)	10.858	2.656	4.977

Average greenhouse sizes in France, Belgium and the Netherlands around 2012 and the related studied example_ The author’s elaboration is based on [51, 69–72]

	Belgium	France	the Netherlands
Surface (out of which vegetable)	1.27 (0.6) ha	8.30 (3.14) ha	(3.81) ha
Covered surface	no data provided	2,60 ha	3,1 ha
source	(Rogge, Nevens and Gulinck 2008; Greenhouse Horticulture 2016)	(The Agricultural Counsellor 2021)	(Average utilized agricultural area n.d.; cbs Statistics Netherlands n.d.)
	Agrotopia	La Cité Maraîchère	Abattoir BIGH
Surface	1.08 ha	0.21 ha	1.43 ha
(out of which vegetable)	(0.53) ha	(0.12) ha	(0.13) ha

Quantitative results of literature searches in Web of Science and Elicit_org databases_ Authors’ elaboration based on databases analysis as of 20_07_2023

keyword search	Web of Science	Elicit.org
urban agriculture + revitalisation	15 [20–23]	>50
urban agriculture + revitalisation + housing	1 [24]	>50
urban agriculture + revitalisation + Europe	0	>50
urban agriculture + revitalisation + housing + Europe	0	>50 [25–33]

Summary of elements of the low-cost specialisation business model of the analysed farms_ The author’s elaboration is based on [29]

	Agrotopia	La Cité Maraîchère	Abattoir BIGH
Customer segments	People from the area requesting fresh vegetables	People from the area requesting fresh vegetables	People from the area requesting fresh vegetables
	Agro-food industries	Families willing to cultivate plants	People from the area requesting leisure activities/enjoyment
	-	-	Families willing to cultivate plants
Value proposition	Courses/Education	Courses/Education	Courses/Education
	Low cost: economies of scale, partly also direct marketing	Low cost: economies of scale, partly also direct marketing	Rent-a-field (social fund)
	Specialities (niches)	-	Low cost: economies of scale, partly also direct marketing
	-	-	Specialities (niches)
Channels	On-farm	On-farm	On-farm
Channels	Agro-food industries	Agro business	Agro-food industries
Customer relationships	Personal to agro-food industries	Dedicated personal assistance	Personal to agro-food industries
Revenue streams	Short supply chains	Short supply chains	Short supply chains
	Product sales	Product sales	Product sales
	High turnover per farmland unit		High turnover per farmland unit
Key resources	Farm location	Farm location	Farm location
	Machinery/Equipment	Machinery/Equipment	Machinery/Equipment
	Irrigation infrastructure	Irrigation infrastructure	Irrigation infrastructure
	Labour	Land	Labour
	-	Labour	-
Key activities	Production and long supply chain marketing	Direct sale	Direct sale
	Standardised activities: fresh vegetables	Standardised activities: fresh vegetables	Production and long supply chain marketing
	-	-	Standardised activities: fresh vegetables and fish
Key partnerships	Associations	Associations	Associations
Key partnerships	Agro-food industries	Thematic Networks	Thematic Networks
Cost structure	Wages	Wages	Wages
	Water and electricity	Water and electricity	Water and electricity
	Running costs	Running costs	Running costs
	Equipment and machinery	Training	Equipment and machinery
	Cost reduction via specialisation	Equipment and machinery	Cost reduction via specialisation
	Certification	-	Certification
Key conclusion	Focusing on very few products; often this product is used to broaden income sources.	Focusing on very few products; often this product is used to broaden income sources.	Focusing on very few products; often this product is used to broaden income sources.
	Agribusiness	Good accessibility	Agribusiness
	Good accessibility	-	Good accessibility

Quantitative search results on professional portals_ Authors’ elaboration based on dezeen_com and archdaily_com as of 20_07_2023

keyword search	www.dezeen.com	www.archdaily.com
urban agriculture	85	12.660
revitalisation	104	177
Europe	1.294	16.932
housing	725	3.686
urban agriculture, revitalisation, housing	0	221
urban agriculture, revitalisation, housing, Europe	0	4
urban farming, revitalisation, housing, Europe	0	85

Implementation of the principles of Green Urbanism_ The author’s elaboration is based on [27]

	Agrotopia	La Cité Maraîchère	Abattoir BIGH
Energy and materials
Local Food	•	•	•
Zero Waste Concept	•	•	•
Local Materials	∘	∘	∘
Renewable Energy	•	•	•
Socio-cultural features
Special strategies for developing cities	∘	∘	∘
Liveability, health and mixed-use	•	•	•
Cultural heritage		•	•
Governance and leadership	•	•	•
Education and research	•	•	•
Urban planning and transport
Transport and public space	∘	•	•
Climate and context	•	•	•
Density and retrofitting	•	•	•
Green buildings and districts	•	•	•
Water and biodiversity
Landscape, gardens and biodiversity	•	•	•
Water management	•	•	•

Urban Agriculture as a Catalyst for Revitalization Processes in Residential Districts of European Cities. The Case of Anderlecht, Roeselare and Romainville

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

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Figure 6.

The goals of revitalisation were achieved in selected implementations_ Authors’ elaboration

Functional analysis of selected cases_ Author’s elaboration

Average greenhouse sizes in France, Belgium and the Netherlands around 2012 and the related studied example_ The author’s elaboration is based on [51, 69–72]

Quantitative results of literature searches in Web of Science and Elicit_org databases_ Authors’ elaboration based on databases analysis as of 20_07_2023

Summary of elements of the low-cost specialisation business model of the analysed farms_ The author’s elaboration is based on [29]

Quantitative search results on professional portals_ Authors’ elaboration based on dezeen_com and archdaily_com as of 20_07_2023

Implementation of the principles of Green Urbanism_ The author’s elaboration is based on [27]

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