A Perspective on Urban Agriculture at the Scale of the Urban Park: Landscape Architectural Strategies for Degrowth Transitions

Abstract

Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized not only for its role in enhancing ecological resilience, food security, and social inclusion, but also for its potential to challenge dominant urban development paradigms. Agroparks, as a spatial typology, have traditionally been associated with multifunctionality, productivity, and land preservation. This Perspective argues that agroparks can also serve as instruments for degrowth-oriented urban transitions, particularly in the context of climate emergency and the need to reconfigure urban land use beyond growth imperatives. Through landscape architectural analysis, the Bernex Agropark (now Parc des Molliers) in Geneva is examined as a spatial prototype that transforms underutilized land into a coherent system of crop zones, civic amenities, and ecological infrastructure. The project demonstrates how landscape architecture can contribute to the regeneration of urban edges while promoting ecological productivity, cooperative stewardship, and spatial limits to urban expansion. We introduce the concept of “Agroparks and Degrowth Urbanism”, framing Bernex as both a post-growth design strategy and a governance experiment. The Perspective concludes with recommendations for integrating agroparks into urban planning: connecting them to green infrastructure networks, prioritizing ecological over economic outputs, enabling commons-based management, and supporting climate adaptation through spatial design and food system relocalization.