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Urban and peri-urban forests can produce a range of foods to supplement local diets and provide a focus for community activity.
Feeding an increasingly urban population and ensuring the economic and social well-being of urban dwellers will be the primary challenge for cities in coming decades. The impacts of climate change are expected to slow down urban economic growth, exacerbate environmental degradation, increase poverty and erode urban food security. Many cities are on a quest for more sustainable urbanization pathways that will enable effective responses to the increasing socio-economic and environmental challenges they face.
In the search to "make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" (Sustainable Development Goal 11 in the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030), interest is increasing in growing local food. Edible green infrastructure, mainly in the form of urban food forests and trees (referred to here generally as urban food forests and also sometimes as tree-based edible landscaping), can help address a range of problems caused by rapid and unplanned urbanization, such as food scarcity, poverty, the deterioration of human health and well-being, air pollution, and biodiversity loss (FAO, 2016).
The use of edible plants in urban and peri-urban forestry varies among cities and is influenced by historical, cultural and socio-economic factors. Overall, it has tended to be neglected in modern cities. This article explores the potential of urban and peri-urban forests as sources of food and the role that urban food forests can play in fostering sustainable cities.
WHAT ARE URBAN FOOD FORESTS?
Clark and Nicholas (2013) defined urban food forests and trees as "the intentional and strategic use of woody perennial food-producing species in edible urban landscapes to improve the sustainability and resilience of urban communities". As an "edible landscaping" practice, urban food forestry involves a combination of agriculture, forestry and agroforestry in urban areas to supply cities with food. It may involve various species of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and other ornamental plants.
The integration of urban food forests into the infrastructure of a city can provide urban dwellers with many benefits. There is evidence that urban food forests can motivate stewardship practices and give inhabitants opportunities to interact with nature and each other (McLain et al., 2012);...