Urban, green and edible : an investigation of the urban agricultural landscape of Xi’an

Sammanfattning: An ongoing urbanization process is changing the landscape of contemporary China. Agricultural lands are being used for real estate development, resulting in a further dependency of agricultural products from the global market. Additionally, a cultural offset is taking place, from being based on the old agricultural society to conforming to western ideals and traditions. One example of this is the adoption of the short-cut, monocultural grass lawn. The lawn consists of grass species unfamiliar to the Chinese climate and the usage of it results in negative environmental effects. However, there are a multitude of examples in China where agriculture is being practised in urban environments, often on what used to be lawns. This master thesis concerns urban agricultural practice in the Chinese city Xi’an, Shaanxi province. The aim of conducting this study was to assess the existing situation concerning urban agriculture (UA) in Xi’an and its place in the city’s green infrastructure by analysing the UA effects and potentials. Furthermore, this thesis aims to determine some design principles, which could support environmentally and culturally beneficial practice of UA for food production in Xi’an. The methods used to achieve this were literature studies, map studies, site visits, interviews and field observations. Collected data was documented through writing, photography and recordings. UA was concluded to have many potential benefits in addition to being a source of food. Examples of these potential benefits are; community building properties, enrichment of urban biodiversity and specifically for China, the potential to reconnect to the country’s agricultural roots. However, these benefits are not absolute. UA can among other things be a source of conflict as well as a source of environmental pollution and contaminated food. Furthermore, there are many uncertainties surrounding the subject. Because UA is often neglected in governmental planning processes, these issues can be difficult to address. Hopefully this master thesis and the determined design principles, can be a small contribution to guide future organisation and design of UA towards a beneficial result.