Recent claims regarding convergence and divergence between land change science and political ecology as approaches to the study of human-environment relationships and sustainability science are examined and analyzed in this innovative volume. Comprised of 11 commissioned chapters as well as introductory and concluding/synthesis chapters, it advances the two fields by proposing new conceptual and methodological approaches toward integrating land change science and political ecology. The book also identifies areas of fundamental difference and disagreement between fields. These theoretical contributions will help a generation of young researchers refine their research approaches and will advance a debate among established scholars in geography, land-use studies, and sustainability science that has been developing since the early 2000s. At an empirical level, case studies focusing on sustainable development are included from Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. The specific topics addressed include tropical deforestation, swidden agriculture, mangrove forests, gender, and household issues.

Recent claims regarding convergence and divergence between land change science and political ecology as approaches to the study of human-environment relationships and sustainability science are examined and analyzed in this innovative volume. Comprised of 11 commissioned chapters as well as introductory and concluding/synthesis chapters, it advances the two fields by proposing new conceptual and methodological approaches toward integrating land change science and political ecology. The book also identifies areas of fundamental difference and disagreement between fields. These theoretical contributions will help a generation of young researchers refine their research approaches and will advance a debate among established scholars in geography, land-use studies, and sustainability science that has been developing since the early 2000s. At an empirical level, case studies focusing on sustainable development are included from Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. The specific topics addressed include tropical deforestation, swidden agriculture, mangrove forests, gender, and household issues.

There has been growing attention paid to urban agriculture worldwide because of its role in making cities more environmentaly sustainable while also contributing to enhanced food access and social justice. This edited volume brings together current research and case studies concerning urban agriculture from both the Global North and the Global South. Its objective is to help bridge the long-standing divide between discussion of urban agriculture in the Global North and the Global South and to demonstrate that today there are greater areas of overlap than there are differences both theoretically and substantively, and that research in either area can help inform research in the other. The book covers the nature of urban agriculture and how it supports livelihoods, provides ecosystem services, and community development. It also considers urban agriculture and social capital, networks, and agro-biodiversity conservation. Concepts such as sustainability, resilience, adaptation and community, and the value of urban agriculture as a recreational resource are explored. It also examines, quite fundamentally, why people farm in the city and how urban agriculture can contribute to more sustainable cities in both the Global North and the Global South. Key Features: * One of the first volumes to bring together evidence from urban agriculture in the Global North and the Global South * Explores the contribution of urban agriculture to livelihoods, ecosystems and conservation * Numerous case studies examine a very diverse range of urban agriculture systems