Mapping and characterizing the urban and periurban agriculture in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

The phenomenon of urban agriculture is not yet fully understood, among other reasons, due to the variety of forms it takes. In view of this gap, this article aims to map and characterize Urban and Periurban Agriculture (UPA) initiatives existing in Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The research was developed in three stages: a) survey of initiatives; b) classification of initiatives by typology, dimension, and situation; c) spatialization of initiatives by neighborhoods and zones of the municipality's Master Plan. As results, 82 UPA initiatives were identified, among which educational and health-related initiatives (typologies) and those with social and ecological objectives (dimensions) predominated. Of this total, half were active at the time of the survey, and the others were inactive or closed (situation). It is concluded that there are fragilities in the structure of these initiatives, and that the most peripheral and located in less dense areas were the most impacted by the Covid pandemic.