The integration of Urban Agriculture into urban planning – An analysis of the current status and constraints

“The process of formulating and implementing land policies is not only politically and technically difficult, it can also be costly. However, the costs of not formulating and implementing them are much higher” (Dowall, David & Clark Giles, 1997). Cities do not develop according to planners’ wishes – to the contrary, in the present and past, cities have always shown their own dynamic of development. In many cases this has led to crowded, ill-ventilated, unplanned, unwieldy, unhealthy cities – “ulcers on the very face of our beautiful island” as expressed by Howard (1902) for the situation in Britain (Howard Ebenezer, 1902). Howard’s Garden City proposals addressed many aspects of the food system -production, distribution, collective preparation and consumption, and waste recyclingas integral to the city (Pothukuchi, Kameshwari & Jerome L. Kaufman 2000) an idea that only now is recovering again (Groppo, Paolo (ed.) 1997). In many reports on urban planning in developing countries the rapid urban development and population increase are highlighted which make the recent trend different from what happens in the western world. Harare's infrastructure, for example, has been unable to cope with this influx of people (Dengu, Ebbie & and Alex Mugova 1996). Rapid, largely unchecked, urbanisation like for example in Kumasi, Ghana, has called an end to its claim of being the 'Garden City of West Africa'. As a result, land use patterns have become very complicated and no good concepts are in sight (Pender, Judith 1998). Therefore, urban planning instruments need to be adapted to the relatively new situation instead of using out-dated, old-fashioned, post-colonial planning instruments, which are not even used anymore in the countries of origin (Dowall, David & Clark Giles 1997). Conflicts between customary and modern land tenure systems cannot be avoided. Most of the conflicts have to do with the transition from communal land to freehold land tenure. This leads to fundamental changes in land use. The role of Land Boards and traditional authorities in manipulating and interpreting local land rights is unclear, (Richard, Matthew J. 1991).