This chapter contains questions about the structure and functioning of urban ecosystems and the management of the waste they produce. The questions are arranged by topic and divided into three levels: foundation, intermediate and advanced.

Although still controversial, several reviews of research show that organic foods are more nutritious and contain fewer poisons than conventional foods. Poor food choices lead to low dietary diversity, and refined foods have many nutrients removed; low nutrient density and high sugars, salts and...

Africa is urbanizing rapidly, and many unemployed or poor people are trying to produce food in urban and peri-urban areas. Many local authorities see this as high-risk food production, mainly because of the risk of use of contaminated water. However, with good planning, urban gardens can supply...

Discussions on urban ecology, as provided in this book, provide information on many foundational elements and formative forces in action in urban environments. In addition, the information provided demonstrates the importance and implications of urbanization-induced changes to the interactions...

In cities around the world, agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas (i.e. areas immediately adjacent to, or surrounding, a city or urban area) provides an important source of fresh and affordable foods and offers an opportunity for urban dwellers to connect to nature and their community. Urban...

Urbanization has been associated with significant transformations in our society, with paramount influence in agriculture and the world food industry, and subsequently in consumers' diets. Arguably, the current food consumption trend is non-sustainable given the non-regenerative, and rather...

The first biological control project in Cuba concerned the introduction of the parasitoid Eretmocerus serius in 1929, resulting in successful classical biocontrol of citrus blackfly in citrus. The subsequent biocontrol success that is still in use on large areas today was obtained in the 1940s by...

This chapter explores the factors leading to urban migration in Sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of climate on the behaviour of malaria vectors (Anopheles spp.) in Africa, and the effects of climate change, urbanization, urban agriculture, and human settlement, activities and lifestyle on vector...

This chapter documents the attempts of the food justice movement in the lower Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts (USA) to challenge inequities in the agri-food system, while addressing broader socio-economic and racial disparities in the region. It documents how marginalized communities and their...

This chapter questions the use of sustainability discourses in urban agriculture projects, with a comparative study of Austin, Texas and La Habana, Cuba. Faced with a food security crisis in the 1990s, Cuba turned to a diversified and mostly organic agricultural system in order to feed its...