The Spatial Representation of Invisible Labour: A Gender-Responsive “Productive Neighbourhood” Model for Urban Agriculture

Abstract

Increasing urbanisation raises urban food demand, while the ecological costs and crisis vulnerability of conventional agriculture necessitate reconsidering food production within urban environments. Literature shows that women, especially low-income women, play a crucial role in urban food production and in sustaining urban populations through subsistence agriculture. Nevertheless, women’s essential contributions to urban food production are often overlooked and remain spatially invisible in urban planning. This study evaluates the mainstreaming of gender in urban agriculture and food justice as issues of land use and spatial planning. It uses critical document analysis of zoning legislation, urban transformation, and public property regulations in Türkiye. Accordingly, it introduces a productive spatial model at the neighbourhood scale through a gender-responsive planning approach. The model proposes incorporating neighbourhood gardens into legislation as Land Readjustment Contribution Share (LRCS) areas. It also recommends designing educational spaces as multifunctional production areas, such as greenhouses and orchards, transforming residential complexes into productive landscapes, and integrating micro-livestock practices in peri-urban neighbourhoods. These strategies link neighbourhood markets with women’s cooperatives and are supported by local urban agriculture regulations. Integrating urban agriculture into the planning system provides a strategic foundation for building resilient cities, advancing gender-responsive urban agriculture policies, and promoting equity in urban nutrition.