Healthy Design? Understanding the Edible City on Glasgow’s Southside

The urban agriculture movement has a growing presence in UK cities, but knowledge about its origins, motivations and potential benefits, remain limited. This research aims to address this gap through a qualitative case study of the urban agriculture community on Glasgow’s Southside. The objective is not to answer a primary research question but to construct a foundational understanding of the urban agriculture community in Glasgow and establish what the members of this community believe are the most pertinent avenues of further academic enquiry on health and design. Employing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with the public, private and third sector organisation, the research will hope to unpack:

  1. the history of the city’s urban agriculture movement;
  2. the extent, shape and components of the existing Southside urban agriculture network;
  3. the design and health policy implications of established urban food production sites on vacant land.

Initial findings would be used to map the urban agriculture community on the Southside and inform the international literature on urban agriculture by offering a Scottish perspective to the on-going debate about innovative urban policymaking in shrinking cities. The project intends to establish possible partnerships for an ongoing research agenda.

Researchers

Project dates

November 2013 – July 2014

Funders

  • Adam Smith Research Foundation (£1425.00)
  • Urban Studies Research Incentivisation Fund (£1000.00)