Agricultural land is a key resource for territorial resilience. In the European context, fertile soils are under pressure not only from urbanisation processes, abandonment and the establishment of non-agricultural uses but also from agriculture that is not well adapted to territorial resources. In order to inform urban planning, a methodology is proposed and applied to the Madrid region to analyse the suitability of agricultural land uses with respect to agrological quality. The majority of agricultural uses in the region are well adapted to the agroecological quality of the land; larger areas of over-exploited land are located along some of the region’s rivers and in the Campiña, while under-utilised land is mainly found in the south-west and in the metropolitan comarcas. This methodology is based on official and open-access information, so it can be easily replicated and used to inform land planning. We propose three strategies depending on the suitability of land use: the introduction of crops in priority areas for horticulture or arable crops, agricultural protection areas and ecological regeneration areas.

Contemporary urban sprawl and urban functional centrality at the regional scale have made the classical urban-rural dichotomy no longer valid. Instead, urban development generates a range of peri-urban transitional areas in which urban and rural uses are mixed in a fragmented land mosaic. The main objective of this paper is to detect opportunitites for the revitalisation of peri-urban agriculture based on an analysis and comparison of its evolution in two different regional contexts in Spain. The peri-urban space is delimited according to density, topography and perceptual criteria. Aerial images and cartographic bases are used to identify land quality and land use changes in the areas, concluding that peri-urban agriculture has suffered both urban occupation and internal changes in crops and agricultural uses, experiencing a process of decline. Innovative initiatives performed in these spaces are also explored as opportunities for revitalisation from a multifunctional approach, linking urban population to peri-urban agriculture, organic farming or landscape management. This analysis serves as a prerequisite to develop new policies for the planning of peri-urban agriculture at local and regional scales, based on a deep understanding of the territory and its evolution.

Diversas propuestas internacionales promueven sistemas alimentarios sostenibles, como por ejemplo el Pacto de Milán, la iniciativa de C40, el ICLEI (Gobiernos locales por la sostenibilidad) Food System, la Declaración de Glasgow o la propia estrategia europea “De la granja a la mesa”. Pero aún no se aplican con claridad en el urbanismo, a pesar de que puede jugar un papel clave en la transición hacia sistemas agroecológicos y sostenibles. Para dar ese salto cualitativo, planteamos la necesidad de sistematizar el conocimiento sobre las experiencias que aprovechan de manera innovadora los mecanismos de ordenación. Por ello presentamos dos ejemplos significativos con diferente grado de desarrollo: el Plan Director Urbanístico del Área Metropolitana de Barcelona y el Plan de Biodistritos en Andalucía. En ellos se han tenido en cuenta la dimensión ecológica: el manejo sostenible de agua y suelo y la interacción con estrategias de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático; la dimensión económica por el potencial de generación de empleo y reactivación local; y la dimensión social relacionada entre otros aspectos con la cohesión social y el refuerzo de vínculos urbano rurales. De estos planes se extraen lecciones críticas que permitirían hacer operativas las recomendaciones de reorganización espacial adaptada a las especificidades de los sistemas agroecológicos.

The International Congress on Proximity Planning (June 26 - 28, 2024) has presented original research papers that explore the thematic and empirical challenges and opportunities that arise in the application of proximity-based planning in cities. Proximity is a planning principle with a tradition of more than a century, recently revived by circumstances such as COVID-19 and the impact of ITs, or by urban strategies such as the 15-minute city in Paris, the superblocks in Barcelona, or the blocks of care in Bogota. The current opportunity is to promote proximity as one of the foundations of urban regeneration processes to meet global challenges. However, the conceptual framework in which to integrate it, its policies, tools and metrics among other questions, need further discussion. Thus, the abstracts presented addressed, but not limited to, the following areas: | Frameworks | 15-minute city and Proximity-Centered Accessibility. Healthy City. Walkable City. Equity and gender. Mobility justice. | Challenges 1 | Urban regeneration. Affordable housing and re-densification. Peripheral centralities. Local economy. Proximity agriculture. | Challenges 2 | Territorial and medium distance mobilities (public transport, bikes and micromobility). Commuting to work. | Challenges 3 | Proximity planning across city scales. Urban-rural relationships, service proximity in rural environments. | Tools 1 | Policy and planning tools for proximity. Public participation. Digitalization. | Tools 2 | Accessibility metrics. Proximity planning encompasses a diverse range of disciplines seeking to promote equitable accessibility in support of complete neighborhoods. A complete neighborhood offers destinations and activities that support the daily life of residents and visitors. But it is not only about destinations. From housing, urban design, and infrastructure, to planning tools, resource allocation, and social interaction, understanding that the dynamics of proximity planning hold immense potential for re-creating sustainable and well-functioning cities.

Shaping a healthy food environment requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond consumption, encompassing the entire system. Urban centers currently depend significantly on agricultural outputs from distant regions, a dynamic that negatively impacts the areas that feed the cities. In the global North, there is a growing awareness of the necessity to improve urban resilience; however, the rural paradox, characterized by persistent food insecurity in regions that are otherwise productive, has received inadequate focus. To uncover the potential ramifications of reversing the perspective, a study was carried out in the Community of Madrid, Spain (7 million inhabitants). We developed a spatial data model to analyze food supply capacity at a local level. Two simulations were run: the first focused on addressing the needs of the metropolitan area, while the second concentrated on the supply requirements of rural municipalities. Two scenarios were defined: one assigned the average legume intake according to statistics from the Ministry, and the other implemented dietary recommendations. Results were conclusive: If production is consumed in the capital, less than 8% of the territory would be covered. However, if larger cities are left out of the equation, food requirements can be met by local production in 62% of the territory. This concept remains theoretical, as most of the necessary facilities and equipment for storage, processing, and delivery are lacking. Establishing healthy food environments depends on realigning priorities and addressing deficiencies in essential components.