Abstract
Climate change is intensifying the exposure of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities to extreme events, increasing the need for effective adaptation strategies. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are key instruments to cope with climate impacts, and urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) stands out for its multifunctionality, offering economic, social, health, and ecological co-benefits such as urban cooling, heat mitigation, improved nutrition, and enhanced well-being. Despite its potential, the inclusion of UPA within the NbS framework remains recent, and implementation is limited, often overlooking interactions among co-benefits and underexploring its contribution to climate adaptation. To address this gap, we developed a conceptual framework for implementing UPA as a NbS in LAC. It combines literature on NbS design and studies of UPA in LAC cities to ensure conceptual grounding and practical applicability. The framework is structured in three phases: (i) pre-implementation, focused on planning, stakeholder engagement, and enabling conditions; (ii) implementation, which supports UPA practices and promotes multifunctional co-benefits across health, social, economic, and ecological dimensions; and (iii) post-implementation, where ecological, social, and economic benefits reinforce climate adaptation and urban resilience. Governance and stakeholder engagement are crucial throughout. Case studies show that although UPA initiatives often originate to address immediate needs such as food security, they generate broader adaptation-relevant outcomes, including microclimate regulation, strengthened social networks, and enhanced biodiversity. These findings highlight the adaptive capacity embedded in UPA systems and their potential to complement or reduce dependence on grey infrastructure. The framework synthesizes these insights and provides actionable guidance for policymakers seeking to incorporate multifunctional NbS into urban planning in LAC.
Citation
Ana Maria Bertolini, Gabriela Di Giulio, Matilda van den Bosch, Urban and peri-urban agriculture as a climate-adaptive nature-based solution: A framework for implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 117, 2026,
129261, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129261