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Regional Environmental Change

, Volume 18, Issue 3, pp 651–662 | Cite as

Peri-urban agro-ecosystems in the Mediterranean: diversity, dynamics, and drivers

  • Christophe-Toussaint Soulard
  • Elodie Valette
  • Coline Perrin
  • Patricia Catarina Abrantes
  • Theodosia Anthopoulou
  • Ouassila Benjaballah
  • Salah Bouchemal
  • Patrick Dugué
  • Mohamed El Amrani
  • Sylvie Lardon
  • Elisa Marraccini
  • Guilhem Mousselin
  • Claude Napoleone
  • Jean-Christophe Paoli
Original Article
First Online:
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Abstract

To address sustainability challenges of agro-ecosystems located in Mediterranean urban regions, this paper focuses on the multidisciplinary subject of urban agricultural systems. To better understand the diversity and dynamics of peri-urban agro-ecosystems and the main drivers of their sustainability, we compare six case studies located in Southern Europe (Montpellier, France; Pisa, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; Athens, Greece) and the Maghreb (Constantine, Algeria; Meknes, Morocco). The research is based on fieldwork in each urban region (qualitative analysis) and literature analysis aimed to position each case study in its national and Mediterranean contexts. The comparison between local contexts indicates large discrepancies in the integration of environmental focus among the respective urban planning objectives. Generally, urbanization tends to accentuate agricultural diversity. The different forms of peri-urban agriculture evolve despite their persistent decline, and they also show a capacity to resist and even new growth in response to urban demand.

Keywords

Agriculture Urbanization Comparative analysis Qualitative analysis Public policy 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the French National Research Agency (ANR) funding via the DAUME project n°ANR-2010-STRA-007. They thank all the members of the DAUME project, Ben Boswell for English language revision, and the reviewers for their valuable advices.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Christophe-Toussaint Soulard
    • 1
    • 2
  • Elodie Valette
    • 3
  • Coline Perrin
    • 1
  • Patricia Catarina Abrantes
    • 4
  • Theodosia Anthopoulou
    • 5
  • Ouassila Benjaballah
    • 6
  • Salah Bouchemal
    • 6
  • Patrick Dugué
    • 7
  • Mohamed El Amrani
    • 8
  • Sylvie Lardon
    • 9
    • 10
  • Elisa Marraccini
    • 11
    • 12
  • Guilhem Mousselin
    • 13
  • Claude Napoleone
    • 14
  • Jean-Christophe Paoli
    • 15
  1. 1.UMR InnovationFrench National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)MontpellierFrance
  2. 2.Campus INRA-Supagro, UMR InnovationMontpellier SupagroMontpellier cedex 1France
  3. 3.UMR TETISFrench Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)MontpellierFrance
  4. 4.Universidade do PortoPortoPortugal
  5. 5.Panteion UniversityAthensGreece
  6. 6.RNAMS Research UnitLarbi Ben M’Hidi University of Oum El BouaghiOum el BouaghiAlgeria
  7. 7.UMR InnovationFrench Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD)MontpellierFrance
  8. 8.National School of Agriculture (ENA) of MeknesMeknesMorocco
  9. 9.UMR MetafortFrench National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)Clermont-FerrandFrance
  10. 10.UMR MetafortAgroParisTechClermont-FerrandFrance
  11. 11.UniLaSalleBeauvaisFrance
  12. 12.Institute of Life SciencesScuola Superiore Sant’AnnaPisaItaly
  13. 13.UMR PASSAGESUniversity of Bordeaux MontaignePessacFrance
  14. 14.UR EcodeveloppementFrench National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)AvignonFrance
  15. 15.LRDE Research UnitFrench National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)CortéFrance

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