Green infrastructure (GI), as a concept and as a tool for environmental land-use planning at various scales, has burst onto the academic, political, and policy-making scenes in the last two decades. This tool, associated with strategic planning, offers integrated solutions for improving the ecological connectivity and urban resilience of open spaces, especially those affected by processes of urban sprawl, the abandonment of agriculture, and the territorial fragmentation of habitats and traditional agricultural landscapes. In spite of the advantages of GI, its design and implementation face a range of challenges and limitations. In this context, this paper has two objectives: Firstly, to address a critical review of recent literature on the subject, which, among other things, highlights the lack of references to the role of peri-urban agriculture in GI planning, and the positive contribution made by peri-urban agriculture to the local food supply and other regulatory and cultural services. Secondly, to propose a methodology to contribute to integrating practical GI planning in metropolitan regions to maximize the activation of traditional agricultural landscapes and the improvement of landscape connectivity in metropolitan regions for the reconnection of rural-urban relationships.

Discussions on food security in the Global North have raised questions about the capacity of peri-urban organic agriculture to provide sufficient healthy food for the urban market. Dealing with food security requires more attention to how to protect peri-urban organic farming systems from urban pressures while strengthening the sustainability of local food systems. Given that short food supply chains (SFSCs) have been proven to be effective at reconnecting people with food production, this study focuses on identifying the barriers that hinder their development and the opportunities derived from the comparative advantage provided by their urban proximity. This study is based on documentary and empirical research addressing food supply chain characteristics in the organic sector. This study is focused on Mediterranean peri-urban agriculture, where, historically, there have been close relationships between the city and the countryside. These relationships are based on the fact that many cities are traditionally located next to areas of high agricultural activity, where a wide variety of vegetables is produced almost continuously due to the relatively mild winter climate. This study deals with two medium-sized metropolitan areas in Andalucía in the south of the Iberian Peninsula—the coastal city of Málaga, which is of a tourist-residential nature, and the inland urban agglomeration of Granada. Our research shows, when compared with other studies, that the local organic food sector seems to have great potential to find innovative solutions based on a collective approach, local embeddedness, and collective knowledge and by prioritizing horizontal and sustainable processes at the local/regional scale.

Periurban agriculture is being hit by the effects of the globalized food system, as well as by concrete aspects of urban sprawl. Nonetheless, proximity to the main markets provides an opportunity to sustain agriculture in highly urbanized areas. In this sense, an increasing number of local initiatives is arising within the context of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs). The economic impact of these initiatives, however, is limited by problems and inefficiencies that hinder their capacity to scale up. The present paper sets forth the results of a research project developed in Madrid and Cataluña. The study is based upon documentary and empirical research addressing the main problems periurban farmers are facing in relation to local food distribution. Among other factors, these refer to regulatory barriers, logistics, competition and dealing with consumers’ preferences. We conducted a questionnaire with a representative group of farmers from each region in three towns presenting different demographic sizes along with another questionnaire extended to the owners of small grocery stores, who play a vital role in the supply of fresh food in these municipalities. Our research demonstrates that most of the problems arising when dealing with SFSCS can be solved by introducing new forms of cooperation among the different agents of the food chain.

This paper addresses the Multifunctional and Territorialised Agri-Food Systems (MTLAFS) in areas of direct urban influence, focusing on the metropolitan region of Madrid. MTLAFS are contextualised as alternatives to the hegemonic global model of mass production and consumption. They are created by combining two conceptual and theoretical bodies of knowledge that share many elements: the study of Local Agri-Food Systems (LAFS), a critical approach to agri-food economies and the re-territorialisation of agri-food systems. The paper analyses the factors that negatively affect the resilience of LAFS and it describes re-territorialisation strategies that enable MTLAFS to be built. By using a multi-criteria methodology to identify agri-environmental and food governance indicators, the research identifies and describes the characteristics that allow the case studies selected in the region of Madrid to be classified as MTLAFS. This has been carried out by gathering the main discussion points on the fractures and relocation strategies that accentuate the vulnerability or, on the contrary, enhance the resilience of the cases analysed. The paper concludes with some recommendations for strengthening the socio-ecological resilience of MTLAFS by using the systemic basis provided by the agro-urban project. This agro-urban project brings together different public policies, governance tools, territorial and food planning, as well as agrarian practices anchored to each specific territory. All these agrarian practices contribute to the configuration of an alternative territorial agri-food model that ensures food security and a shift towards the sustainable development of our planet.

Los cambios experimentados desde mediados del siglo XX, como consecuencia de la industrialización de la agricultura, han favorecido la desconexión entre la producción de alimentos, la naturaleza y la sociedad. Esto nos sitúa frente a una serie de retos socio-ecológicos que necesitan ser resueltos para frenar la crisis de la agricultura de pequeña escala y el deterioro de los agroecosistemas. En contraposición a las lógicas que deslocalizan la producción del consumo y que rompen el vínculo con el territorio, diversas iniciativas están integrando prácticas crecientemente agroecológicas y adaptando sus formas de comercialización hacia modelos más sostenibles y territorializados. Con la necesidad de identificar las estrategias transformadoras en que los agricultores avanzan para crear sistemas alimentarios sostenibles, se analizan dos estudios de caso exploratorios en España (Extremadura y Asturias). Los resultados muestran cómo los enfoques cooperativos, las redes colaborativas enraizadas en el territorio y los acuerdos voluntarios de colaboración que se establecen entre diferentes agentes del sistema agroalimentario son factores clave para permitir a los pequeños productores mejorar su participación y empoderamiento en el sistema agroalimentario, a la vez que se fomentan estrategias sistémicas para cambiar los modos de producción y consumo hegemónicos.