2016 Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 460-475
This research focused on the restructuring and development mechanism of urban farming and describes the local impacts of the commodification of rural space using the Sunagawa area in Tachikawa city as an example. Urban farming fulfills not only productive functions but has increasingly been expected to have a range of various functions, providing green space and amenities for a better living environment, or evacuation space in the case of disasters. However, there has been no change in the fundamental function of small-scale urban agriculture, which provides diverse, safe farm produce to urban residents. Such small-scale food production systems cannot compete with the cheaper products of large-scale farms, and these systems cannot satisfy the demand of large-scale urban markets. As a consequence, most products of urban farming are either directly marketed or find their way to local markets. This research focused on the direct marketing of farm products by farm produce shops. Their types in an area are considered to reflect the development process, restructuring of urban farming, and degree of the commodification of rural space. In response to continuous urban expansion and diversification of urban residents' needs, there has been a shift from the traditional type of farm produce shop toward more complex types like the diversified product, agriprocessing-commercialization, and experiential-collaborative types. This evolution reflects the development process and mechanism of urban farming with the commodification of rural space in the Sunagawa area.
