AGRIHOOD : a new peri-urban agriculture system for Auckland : towards a sustainable farming centered residential development

Abstract

With population growth predicted for Auckland, great food production will be required to feed the city (Auckland City Council, 2015). Auckland is already the country's largest customer of food markets, but the fossil-based agricultural system in Auckland is still vulnerable to urban growth and climate change. Peri-urban agriculture refers to 'production units close to town, which operate intensive semi- or fully commercial farms to grow vegetables and other crops' (Komirenko, 2008, page 1).

For Auckland, in the periphery of the current urban areas, there is peri-urban agriculture located between the the built-up areas and the Rural Urban Boundary; examples are Kumeu, Belmont, and Hingaia. In order to provide a sustainable future for the next generation, the emergence of peri-urban agriculture provides opportunities to improve the city's food resilience and develop a local food system.

This project will focus on creating a farming-centre community called 'Agrihood' on a specific site - Special Housing Areas {SHAs) in Belmont, to radically transform an industrialised agricultural system into a demonstration of a locally-based, sustainable model in peri-urban Auckland.