Integrating urban agriculture and urban planning in Mashhad, Iran; a short survey of current status and constraints

This article addresses the role of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Mashhad in a perspective of sustainable development. To this end the article seeks to point out the conditions that hinder this development and the factors that could favor it. The article is structured as follows: in the first section the UPA phenomenon is framed with reference to some significant planning experiences in progress in Western and Islamic countries. In the second section, an outline of Mashhad as a “city in transition” is provided highlighting its main factors of change. In the third section, the institutional framework of present urban planning in Mashhad is described, also showing the weak enforcement mechanisms of planning policy for UPA. Section four presents both a conceptual and material network of un-built areas potentially suitable for agricultural uses, articulated in three different classes. By referring to city maps and recent urban schemes, the study summarizes the physical characteristics, the ownership, and the resources of each class, from inside the compact city to its peripheral belt. The article concludes by indicating the three domains of policy, education, and social commitment as the main factors that can favor effective policies and practices for a multifunctional urban agriculture.