Agriculture Under Human Influence: A Spatial Analysis of Farming Systems and Land Use in European Rural-Urban-Regions

Abstract

Peri-urban agriculture in metropolitan regions is exposed to severe urbanisation pressures related to land and labour availability, thus limiting farming activities. Nevertheless, peri-urban agriculture reveals specific characteristics that contribute to the local food supply and the management of a multifunctional countryside near towns. This paper seeks to investigate agricultural land-use and farming-system characteristics in peri-urban areas within Rural-Urban Regions (RUR) across the EU27. The RUR model, which includes an allocation of urban, peri-urban and rural areas, is developed and applied in spatial and statistical analyses to identify relationships between urbanisation and agriculture. The results indicate that metropolitan agriculture compensates shrinking land bases by increasing the intensity of the labour and turnover generated, and is furthermore specialised at developing horticultural produce that is oriented towards urban consumer markets.