Quantifying the Impacts of Urbanization on Urban Agriculture and Food Security in the Megacity Lahore, Pakistan

Muhammad Mushahid Anwar, Juergen H. Breuste, Ayaz Ahmad, Asad Aziz () and Ali Abdullah Aldosari
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Muhammad Mushahid Anwar: Department of Geography, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Punjab, Pakistan
Juergen H. Breuste: Department Environment & Biodiversity, Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34 A, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Ayaz Ahmad: Department of Geography, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Punjab, Pakistan
Asad Aziz: Department of Geography, University of Gujrat, Hafiz Hayat Campus, Gujrat 50700, Punjab, Pakistan
Ali Abdullah Aldosari: Department of Geography, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: As a response to food security, urban agriculture is essential for sustainable development. The primary goal of this study is to provide the basic formulation and theoretical knowledge for sustainable urban agriculture by analyzing the impact of urbanization on urban agriculture and food security. For the food security assessment, the variables included food consumption and quality of food as the independent variables, and monthly income of local dwellers as the dependent variable; these were considered for the regression analysis and statistical analysis. The food security assessment was checked and expressed using regression values of R, which was 0.857, and an adjusted R square, with a value of 0.728. The results show extensive change in food security issues and land use due to urbanization causes, large-scale damage to agricultural land in the area, and loss of biodiversity, which threaten food security by converting natural land into built-up areas. The study concludes that urban agriculture is a fundamental environmental activity to ensure food security by increasing food production for locals and improving urban biodiversity.

Keywords: environment; consumption of food; food security; urban agriculture; urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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