Proposal for the FORMAS call “The challenges and opportunities of urbanization” approved

Short description of project:

Land use, agricultural production and food supply are affected by the dynamics of an urban system. The question is how they are inter-linked and related to urban transformations? The aim of this project is to identify resilience and adaptedness criteria by focusing on two different agronomic systems in developing countries. The specific urban systems within these - “Cairo” in the Egyptian arid zone and “Hyderabad” in the Indian semi-arid zone - will allow us to investigate and compare agronomic, institutional and regional variations. A system-resilience framework will be used that maps how high-rates of urban sprawl cause land-use changes affecting competing use of natural resources such as land and water. We also examine how food supply and agricultural productions systems adapt and relate to land use as well as to urban sprawl. The resilience of these inter-linked agricultural production systems to these changes is determined by its ability to self-organize, learn from- and absorb the changes. The adaptedness is also reflected in how well the system is able to innovate and make use of emerging opportunities. The results will strengthen the understanding of urban system-resilience as well as generate

knowledge in relation to how land use, agricultural production and food supply in the selected arid and semi-arid systems

insights. Critical components and explanations will be identified to direct attention of researchers and policy makers.