Abstract

In an increasingly urban world, cities are heralded as key to sustainable, climate-resilient, and inclusive development. Urban agriculture (UA) is often identified as a vehicle to meet human well-being and urban sustainability goals. However, there remain empirical gaps in understanding how, why, and to what ends UA is practised in cities of the Global South. Using primary data majorly from two Indian cities – Bengaluru and Pune, we characterise the landscape of UA and examine whether these practices accrue to meet sustainability goals. We also examine the outcomes of UA on human and societal well-being, which is disaggregated into material and subjective well-being. Overall, our findings suggest that UA practices are diverse in Indian cities with high variation in what is grown, intricate practices of composting and water reuse, and flourishing networks of knowledge sharing. We also find that UA plays a small but critical role in making cities more sustainable, healthier, and happier, which can be enhanced through policy attention. Apart from sustainability outcomes such as being sites of urban biodiversity and wet waste recycling, urban farms and gardens in India cultivate empathy and respect for nature, foster sustainable consumption and production, and enable community cohesion. While not a significant income-generating activity yet, farm-based enterprises are emerging as job providers. As cities redirect finances and capacities towards nature-based solutions, we argue for greater attention to the emancipatory power of urban agriculture in realising sustainable and inclusive urbanisation.