Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MEGARON, cilt.11, sa.2, ss.291-299, 2016 (ESCI)
With the intertwining of rural and urban areas, new concepts have emerged about rural areas and agricultural production. New approaches have been created to restructure agricultural production and define agriculture as an urban activity. With the help of these approaches, regulations aimed at the applicability of urban agriculture began to appear on the agenda of both central and local governments. It is understood that in order to meet the economic and social demands arising as a result of rapid urbanization processes in a reliable way, urban development plans and regulations at the local government level are needed. In this context, many countries regard urban agriculture as an important strategy in their urban policy arsenal because of its contributions to urban food safety, local sustainable economic development and decreasing urban poverty. This study explores the concept of urban agriculture and its applicability in metropolitan cities where rural and urban land meet. Within this framework, changes to contemporary legislation and the changing role of local governments in urban agriculture practices are also discussed. The importance of urban agriculture practices in sustainable urban development policies because of their social, economic and environmental impacts is emphasized. In conclusion, it is noted that just as agriculture and agricultural production are becoming an area of study for local governments, metropolitan municipalities are also becoming important actors in matters related to agricultural production in Turkey.