URBAN AGRICULTURE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSIVE PLANNING POLICIES IN LAGOS AND
IBADAN, NIGERIA
OYEJIDE Olarinola I.¹, ADEBOWALE-SALAWU Temiloluwa E.¹
& OYEJIDE Oyedeji T.²
¹Department of Urban and Regional Planning, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria
²Toledo Development Partners, Ibadan
*Corresponding author: o_olarinola@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract
Over the years, urban agriculture has emerged as a potential approach to promoting food security, livelihoods, and sustainability in rapidly growing urban areas. Yet, its role in promoting social justice is not uniform and contingent on planning processes, governance and institutional settings. By comparing inclusive planning policies in Lagos and Ibadan, this study seeks to understand the links between urban agriculture and social justice. Drawing on the theoretical tenets of the Right to the City, Spatial Justice and Urban Political Ecology, the study uses a comparative mixed-methods approach. 240 urban farmers were surveyed in a sample of farming clusters using descriptive analytics, composite indices and multiple regression analysis. The results show marked differences between the cities. Ibadan exhibits higher levels of access, participation and social justice, while Lagos has a more formalised, exclusionary planning system. The regression analysis shows access to resources is the most significant predictor of social justice, followed by participation and institutional support, with 61% of the variability explained. This research concludes urban agriculture is a social outcome only when supported with inclusive planning that provides equitable access to resources, participation and institutional support. It calls for the institutionalisation of urban agriculture in planning, better access to land for small producers, and integration of urban agriculture with sustainability and resilience strategies in the face of climate change.
Keywords:
Urban agriculture; social justice; inclusive planning; spatial justice and urban governance