Building a Climate-Resilient City: Agriculture and food security

The document argues that strengthening local food systems increases resilience to climate-driven supply shocks. It recommends that cities protect agricultural land through zoning and greenbelts, embrace soil-free technologies like vertical farming, and promote redundancy through municipal composting and diversified water sources. It also suggests supporting the 'cottage food industry' and community food centres to enhance local resourcefulness and food security.

• Alberta is projected to see mean annual temperatures rise by 2.0°C by the 2030s and 4.0°C by the 2060s compared to the 1990s if global greenhouse gas emissions remain unchanged. Precipitation is expected to increase in winter and decline in summer, with a significant risk from increased climate variability and extreme weather events.
• Climate change threatens food security in Calgary and Edmonton by potentially damaging transport infrastructure, limiting water for local production due to summer droughts, and increasing energy demand for refrigeration during higher summer temperatures. Additionally, global supply chain disruptions, such as California's four-year drought, cause ripple effects on local food availability and prices.
• To build robustness, cities should use land-use zoning bylaws to protect space for commercial and community gardens and establish greenbelt zones to preserve peri-urban farmland. Innovative soil-free methods, including hydroponics, aquaponics, and vertical agriculture, are recommended to produce food in warehouses and vacant buildings where land is scarce.
• Redundancy in the food system can be increased through municipal composting programs, which improve soil structure and water retention, and by diversifying municipal water sources and adopting smart irrigation. The document also suggests that food distribution centres and supermarkets should have back-up generators to prevent food spoilage during power failures.
• Community resourcefulness can be bolstered by supporting the 'cottage food industry'—home-based product development—and by establishing Community Food Centres that serve as hubs for bulk buying, community kitchens, and farmers' markets. Public education and 'green schools' that integrate food production into the curriculum are also highlighted as essential for long-term resilience.

APA

Temmer, J. (2017). Building a Climate-Resilient City: Agriculture and food security. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/pcc-brief-climate-resilient-city-agriculture-food.pdf

Chicago

Temmer, Jennifer. Building a Climate-Resilient City: Agriculture and food security. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/pcc-brief-climate-resilient-city-agriculture-food.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Temmer |first1=Jennifer |title=Building a Climate-Resilient City: Agriculture and food security |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/pcc-brief-climate-resilient-city-agriculture-food.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{temmer2017building, author = {Temmer, Jennifer}, title = {{Building a Climate-Resilient City: Agriculture and food security}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/pcc-brief-climate-resilient-city-agriculture-food.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }