Urban Agriculture

Lessons

Instructions for Blog Assignments

General Information

Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 3
Class time: Wednesday and Friday – 2:45 – 4 PM
Classroom: FG B040 SGW
Office Hours: Wednesday – 4:15 – 5:30 PM (by request)

Territorial Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that Concordia University is located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather today. Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community. (Indigenous Directions Leadership Group, Feb. 16, 2017) This course focuses on food and culture from decolonial, social justice perspectives. Students are encouraged to read the Red Paper on Land Back and/or take the short course on Land Back from the Yellowhead Institute.

Course Description from Concordia Calendar

This course examines the history and practice of producing food in cities. Students will explore the tensions between the politics, economies and ecologies that organize urban food production and the everyday ways people raise and access food in varied urban contexts. The course also critically evaluates food‑based social movements: their limits, possibilities and connections to wider struggles for socio‑economic justice.

Learning Outcomes

Understand theoretical and practical approaches to urban agriculture
Situate urban agriculture into larger food systems
Identify planetary boundaries and ecological crises caused by industrial agriculture
Understand the strengths and limitations of urban agriculture
Differentiate between different models of urban farms/gardens
Apply diverse economic approaches to imagine and create ethical foodscapes
Map community food systems economies
Understand the fundamentals of soil health and the plant – microbe symbiosis
Move beyond understanding weak sustainability toward transformative approaches
Understand social justice and decolonial perspectives in urban agriculture
Grow food in urban (or peri-urban) environments
Incorporate SPIN (Small Plot Intensive Farming) methods
Become more self-sufficient by producing a variety of fruits and vegetables at home or in the community
Understand community food systems and apply the knowledge to urban gardening/farming
Run a social economy-based urban farm
Cultivate annual and perennial food plants
Incorporate permaculture and agroecology methods into urban gardening/farming
Get the most production in an urban garden/farm
Understand gardening cycles – what to do in different seasons
Incorporate mushrooms into your urban farms/gardens
Forage in urban areas
Use natural methods for pest control
Understand the strengths and limitations of urban agriculture, and learn how to evaluate and improve urban farming systems
Distinguish between weeds and beneficial plants and flowers
Differentiate between different models of indoor and outdoor urban farms/gardens
Recount the history of the urban agriculture movement in Quebec and Canada
Perform action research and incorporate ontological approaches in creating community food sovereignty and food justice.

Instructional Method

This course will be given in person. Each class will begin with a short lecture and discussion led by Erik Chevrier, Ph.D. and/or Hala Chaoui (assistant teacher). They will introduce themes, provide additional examples and/or offer critical perspectives related to the weekly topics but not covered in the readings. The course will also include a variety of pedagogical styles, including lectures, discussions, guest speakers (possibly), field trips (maybe), community service learning and/or experiential learning. Students are expected to read the required texts before class and engage with each other through interactive activities and critical discussions.

Course Content

This course takes a critical look at how urban agroecology can support food-sovereign urban communities. Students will examine food systems through multiple lenses, analyzing the ecological impacts of industrial agriculture—such as biodiversity loss, disrupted carbon cycles, water overuse, and pollution—alongside social and economic issues including food insecurity, rising food costs, reliance on migrant farm labour, and the challenges faced by small- and medium-scale farms.

Alongside this critical inquiry, the course emphasizes practical approaches to building campus–community food sovereignty. Students will explore strategies for creating resilient urban food systems and gain hands-on experience by participating in local urban farms and gardens.

The course begins with an overview of theoretical perspectives, including food systems analysis, diverse economies, and ecological complexity. It then shifts to the practical work of designing, growing, and maintaining urban farms and gardens. In the final weeks, students will resituate this knowledge within broader discussions of land, seeds, and urban planning, before concluding with lessons on harvest preservation and a collective food festival.

Assignments are designed to bridge theory and practice. Students will engage with critical food theory, collaborate with community-based urban agriculture initiatives, and reflect on their experiences in the field.

Course Schedule and Required Readings
Week	Date	Description	Assignments and/or Readings Due
1	Sept 3 & 5	Introduction to Urban Agroecology and Course	Tornaghi, C. Dehaene, D. (2021)Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions Chapter 1 – Food as an Urban Question, and the Foundations of a Reproductive, Agroecological Urbanism
2	Sept 10 & 12	Examples of Urban Agroecology: Loyola Farm Tours	Egerer, M., Cohen, H. (2020) Urban Agroecology Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions Introduction – The Role of Agroecology in Cities
3	Sept 17 & 19	Critical Overview of Food Systems	Egerer, M., Cohen, H. (2020) Urban Agroecology Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions Chapter 9 – Co-Producing Agro-Food Policies for Urban Environments: Toward Agroecology-Based Local Agri-food Systems Tornaghi, C. Dehaene, D. (2021)Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions Chapter 8 – The Transformative Potential of Agroecological Farmers: An analysis of participatory food system strategies in Nicaragua and England
4	Sept 24 & 26	Diverse Economies of Agroecology	Tornaghi, C. Dehaene, D. (2021)Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions Chapter 3 – Commons and Commoning for a Just Agroecological Transition: The importance of de-colonising and de-commodifying our food systems Chapter 7 – The Potential of Bio-Intensive Market Gardening Models for a Transformative Urban griculture: Adapting SPIN Farming to Brussels Chapter 9 – Conjugating Social and Solidarity Economies in Chiapas Mexico: Redesigning food systems for economic, social, and ecological virtuous circles
5	Oct 1 & 3	Agroecology and Ecological Complexity and Biodiversity	Egerer, M., Cohen, H. (2020) Urban Agroecology Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions Chapter 1 – An Expanded Scope of Biodiversity in Urban Agriculture, with Implications for Conservation Chapter 2 – Complex Ecological Interactions and Ecosystem Services in Urban Agroecosystems Chapter 3 – Climate Factors and Climate Change in Urban Agroecosystems
6	Oct 8 & 10	Healthy Soil	Tornaghi, C. Dehaene, D. (2021)Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions Chapter 6 – Soils, Industrialized Cities and Contaminants: Challenges for an agroecological urbanism Egerer, M., Cohen, H. (2020) Urban Agroecology Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions Chapter 4 – Restoring Soil and Supporting Food Sovereignty across Urban–Rural Landscapes: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
	Oct 15 & 17	Mid-Term Break – No Classes
7	Oct 22 & 24	Annual Food Production	Various Chapters of: Carpenter, N., and Rosenthal, W. (2011) The Essential Urban Farmer, Penguin Books. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
8	Oct 29 & 31	Perennial Food Production	Various Chapters of: Carpenter, N., and Rosenthal, W. (2011) The Essential Urban Farmer, Penguin Books. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
9	Nov 5 & 7	Urban Permaculture	Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture Chapter 1 – Introducing the Ecological Garden Chapter 2 – A Gardener’s Ecology
10	Nov 12 & 14	Urban Food Planning	Various Chapters of: Integrated Urban Agriculture: Precedents, Practices, Prospects Chapter 4 – Designing Urban Agriculture Forms: History, Education, Proposals and Projects Chapter 5 – Urban Agriculture Linkages, Patterns, Education and Urban Planning Chapter 6 – Resilient Cities = Carrot City: Urban Agriculture Theories and Designs Chapter 7 – Agricultural Urbanism: Building Sustainable Urban and Regional Food Systems for 21^st Century Cities
11	Nov 19 & 21	Seeds, Land and Food Sovereignty	Egerer, M., Cohen, H. (2020) Urban Agroecology Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions Chapter 7 – From Individual Seeds to Collective Harvests: Urban Agroecology as Political Action Chapter 8 – Surveying the Landscape of Urban Agriculture’s Land Politics: Civic, Ecological, Heritage-Based, Justice-Driven, and Market-Oriented Fields
12	Nov 26 – 28	Food Preservation and Festival	Tornaghi, C. Dehaene, D. (2021)Resourcing an Agroecological Urbanism Political, Transformational and Territorial Dimensions Conclusion – The programmatic dimension of an agroecological urbanism

Assignments

Participation

The participation grade is based on attendance, engagement in class discussions, and active involvement in hands-on food activities and supplemental tasks. Students are expected to attend class regularly, contribute thoughtfully to discussions, and demonstrate familiarity with the assigned readings. Participation reflects students’ ability to engage critically and collaboratively with course materials, peers, and experiential activities.

Blog Posts (Critical Essays on Urban Agriculture):

Students will write two blogs (600–1000 words each) on topics related to urban agriculture discussed in lectures and/or course readings. The first blog must address critical perspectives in urban agriculture, while the second will focus on building sovereign/sustainable urban foodscapes. Although written in a blog format, posts must be grounded in research rather than personal opinion. To receive an A, submissions must reference at least eight credible sources and integrate required course readings. Students with production skills may substitute a video or podcast, pending approval from Erik Chevrier.

Experiential Learning Assignment

For the final project, students will collaborate with a campus–community initiative to strengthen local foodscapes. They may work with projects Erik is directly involved in (e.g., CultivAction Solidarity Cooperative, Lachine Farms) or partner with another urban agriculture initiative in their community. Each student will contribute 10 volunteer hours over the semester, gaining hands-on experience and learning directly from practitioners.

In addition to their fieldwork, students will write a critical self-reflection that connects their volunteer experience with course concepts, allowing them to analyze both the challenges and possibilities of urban agroecology in practice.

Grading System

Name of Assignment	Due Date	% of final grade
Participation	Ongoing	15
Blog 1 (Critical Perspectives in Urban Agriculture)	October 10	30
Blog 2 (Building Food Sovereign Campus-Communities through Urban Agroecology)	November 19	30
Experiential Learning Reflection	December 5	25

More information on university regulations concerning evaluation can be found here. The grading system is described in section 16.1.11 of the Undergraduate Calendar.

Please note that for 200-level courses, instructors in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment reserve the right to adjust the final reported grades so that under normal circumstances no more than 25% of students registered in a course receive an outstanding grade (A-, A, A+).

Grade to Letter Equivalencies

A+	95 – 100	B+	80 – 84.9	C+	67 – 69.9	D+	57 – 59.9	F	0 – 49
A	90 – 94.9	B	75 – 79.9	C	63 – 66.9	D	53 – 56.9	NR	No report
A-	85 – 89.9	B-	70 – 74.9	C-	60 – 62.9	D-	50 – 52.9

Extraordinary Circumstances

In the event of extraordinary circumstances and pursuant to the Academic Regulations, the University may modify the delivery, content, structure, forum, location and/or evaluation scheme. In the event of such extraordinary circumstances, students will be informed of the changes.

Class Cancellation

Classes are officially considered cancelled if an instructor is 15 minutes late for a 50-minute class, 20 minutes late for a 75-minute class, or 30 minutes late for longer classes.

Intellectual Property

Content belonging to instructors shared in online courses, including, but not limited to, online lectures, course notes, and video recordings of classes remain the intellectual property of the faculty member. It may not be distributed, published or broadcast, in whole or in part, without the express permission of the faculty member. Students are also forbidden to use their own means of recording any elements of an online class or lecture without express permission of the instructor. Any unauthorized sharing of course content may constitute a breach of the Academic Code of Conduct and/or the Code of Rights and Responsibilities. As specified in the Policy on Intellectual Property, the University does not claim any ownership of or interest in any student IP. All university members retain copyright over their work.

Behaviour

All individuals participating in courses are expected to be professional and constructive throughout the course, including in their communications.

Concordia students are subject to the Code of Rights and Responsibilities which applies both when students are physically and virtually engaged in any University activity, including classes, seminars, meetings, etc. Students engaged in University activities must respect this Code when engaging with any members of the Concordia community, including faculty, staff, and students, whether such interactions are verbal or in writing, face to face or online/virtual. Failing to comply with the Code may result in charges and sanctions, as outlined in the Code.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity means that every student must be honest and accurate in their work. The Academic Code of Conduct includes rules and regulations students must follow. Unacceptable practices include the following

Copy from ANYWHERE without saying from where it came.
Omit quotation marks for direct quotations.
Let another student copy your work and then submit it as his/her own.
Hand in the same assignment in more than one class without permission.
Have unauthorized material in an exam, such as cheat sheets, or crib notes. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE CAUGHT USING THEM – JUST HAVING THEM WILL GET YOU INTO TROUBLE!
Copy from someone else’s exam.
Communicate with another student during an exam by talking or using some form of signals.
Add or remove pages from an examination booklet or take the booklet out of an exam room.
Get hold of or steal an exam or assignment answers or questions.
Write a test or exam for someone else or have someone write it for you.
Hand in false documents such as medical notes, transcript or record.
Falsify data or research results.

PLAGIARISM: The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct (see link below) is plagiarism, which the Code defines as “the presentation of the work of another person as one’s own or without proper acknowledgement.”

This could be material copied word for word from books, journals, internet sites, professor’s course notes, etc. It could be material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It could be the work of a fellow student, such as an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, or a paper or assignment completed by another student. It could be a paper purchased through one of the many available sources. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone. It can also refer to copying images, graphs, tables, and ideas. Plagiarism is not limited to written work. It also applies to oral presentations, computer assignments and artistic works. Finally, if you translate the work of another person into French or English and do not cite the source, this is also plagiarism. In simple words: DO NOT COPY, PARAPHRASE OR TRANSLATE ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE WITHOUT SAYING FROM WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT!

Take care to inform yourself of the rules, regulations and expectations for academic integrity.