Faculty of Development & Society

Postgraduate Dissertation Proposal Form

1. Name of student
Ramiro Bastos

2. Email and postal address for correspondence

Email: ramaxx@gmail.com

Postal: 41, St Thomas rd, Crookes, S10 1UW

Telephone Number 07766972133

3. Provisional Title

Urban agriculture in Sheffield: the contribution of the Allotment

Gardens (AG) to the local food production and the sustainable
development of the city.
4. Brief description of proposal (no more than 200 words summarising
your detailed proposal including your key research questions and the
rationale for the work)
Local food has become a common issue in the last few years, driven by the increasing
demand of this products and a general concern of where and how the food we consume
is produced and distributed. The Urban agriculture, specifically the Allotment Gardens in
the city of Sheffield could contribute to fulfil that demand, as provide other not less
important element in order to support the idea of sustainable communities.
The study will gather relevant information using a sustainability evaluation framework,
adapted from Masera et al (2000). The process will involve observation research, surveys
and interviews with AG users, local people, local authority and food industry with the
objective to provide the tools for policy-making process.

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 The procedures will lead to the production of comparative scenarios with the use of
indicators of sustainability. These actions will lead us to determine which approach would
better support the sustainable development of Sheffield.
Finally, we will be able to highlight some conclusions answering the research question,
stating significant recommendations of improvement and design ideas for
implementation on AG, as well as emphasise the suitability and application of the
methodology used.

5. Why have you chosen this topic? e.g. does it relate to previous work
or studies?
I have an agricultural engineering background, first working as a volunteer in a social
programme called Pro-Huerta financed by the Ministry of Social Development in
Argentina. This is a social programme which introduced several sustainable mechanisms
for the provision of technical assistance services, especially in urban agriculture.
In order to complete my degree in Agriculture Engineering in the UPC, Barcelona, Spain, I
wrote in conjunction with Oscar Simon a thesis called Evaluation of the sustainability in
agricultural development projects in Tape Iguapegui (Argentina) and Celica (Ecuador). In
this text we developed a tool to measure the sustainability in different managements
systems in small farms in Latin-America.
After this, I’ve been working as an Agronomist for the UPC in different rural development
projects in Latin-America.
Currently, I’m working as a consultant for Sheffield Wild Trust developing a Local Food
Business Plan.

6. What relevant literature have you read so far?

Urban agriculture
 Chaplowe, S. (1998), Havana’s popular gardens: sustainable prospects for urban
agriculture. The Environmentalist 1847-57, 1998.
 de Zeeuw, H. (2004), The development of Urban Agriculture; some lessons learnt.
RUAF, Key note paper for the International Conference” Urban Agriculture, Agro-
tourism and City Region Development”, Beijing, 10-14 October, 2004.
 Garnett, T. (1996), Growing food in cities. A report to highlight and promote the
benefits of urban agriculture in the UK. National Food Alliance and the SAFE
Alliance publication.

Allotment Gardens
 Buckingham, S. (2005), Women (re)construct the plot: the regen(d)eration of
urban food growing. Area (2005) 37.2, 171–179.
 Domene, E. and Saurí, D. (2007), Urbanization and class-produced natures:
Vegetable gardens in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region. Geoforum 38 (2007)
287–298
 Flavell, N. (2003) Urban allotment gardens in the eighteenth century: the case of
Sheffield. The Agricultural history review 51, 1: 95-106, 2003.

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  Gaston, K. et al, (2005), Urban domestic gardens (IV): the extent of the resource
and its associated features. Biodiversity and Conservation 14 (14): 3327-3349, 2005.
 Gaston, K. et al (2005) Urban domestic gardens (II): experimental tests of
methods for increasing biodiversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 14: 395–413,
2005.
 Milligan, C. et al (2004) Cultivating health’: therapeutic landscapes and older
people in northern England. Social Science & Medicine 58 :1781–1793.
 Poole, S. (2006), The allotment chronicles. Silver Link Book.
 Wiltshire, R. and Azuma, R. (2000), Rewriting the Plot: sustaining allotments in the
UK and Japan. Local Environment, Vol. 5, No. 2, 139–151 2000.

Evaluation of sustainability and sustainable agriculture

 Beck, T., Quigley, M. and Martin, J. (2003), Emergy evaluation of food production
in urban residential landscapes. Urban Ecosystems, 5: 187–207, 2001
 DEFRA (2005), The validity of Food Miles as an indicator of sustainable
development. AEA Technology.
 Masera, O. et al (2000), Evaluating the sustainability of integrated peasantry
systems. The MESMIS Framework. LEISA Magazine, 16.4.
 Masera, O. et al (2000), Sustentabilidad y el manejo de recursos naturales. Mundi-
prensa, Mexico.

Local food
 Chambers, S. (2007), Local, national and imported foods: A qualitative study.
Appetite 49 208–213.
 Edwards-Jones, G. et al (2008), Testing the assertion that .local food is best: the
challenges of an evidence based approach, Trends in Food Science & Technology
doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2008.01.008.
 Marsden, T. and Smith, E. (2005), Ecological entrepreneurship: sustainable
development in local communities through quality food production and local
branding. Geoforum 36 (2005) 440–451.
 Marsden, T. (2005) Ecological entrepreneurship: sustainable development in local
communities through quality food production and local branding. Geoforum 36
440–451, 2005.
 Seyfang, G. (2006), Ecological citizenship and sustainable consumption:
Examining local organic food networks. Journal of Rural Studies 22:383–395.
 Weatherell, C. et al (2003), In search of the concerned consumer: UK public
perceptions of food, farming and buying local. Journal of Rural Studies 19:233–244.

Policies and strategies

 City of York Council (2003) Allotment’s strategy.
 DEFRA (2006), Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy: Forward Look. [on line].
Article from DEFRA site, last accessed 12 April 2008 at: www.defra.gov.uk

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  International Development Research Centre (2003) Urban Agriculture: A Tool for
Sustainable Municipal Development. [on line] Article from RUAF foundation, las
accessed 21 April 2008 at: http://www.ruaf.org/node/20
 Mitchell, L. (1922), the Law of allotments and allotment gardens (England and
Wales). Third edition, P. S. KING & SON, LTD.
 Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food(2002) FARMING & FOOD: a
sustainable future.[on line] Accessed 5 May 2008 at: http://www.cabinet-
office.gov.uk/farming
 UN. Sustainable development (1992) Agenda 21. United Nations Conference on
Environment & Development Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

Sheffield

8. Outline your research design. What research methods will you use
and what data do you expect to collect (include information about access
arrangements, information from records, archives, literature,
organisations, experts, users/clients etc.)
The approach to methods and techniques will be based in the methodology underlined in
the research methodology section in page 8. Under the staged process, the development
of the research will perform a mixed method approach in order to address the objectives
and validate findings through triangulating data (site surveys, face to face interviews,
secondary data analysis, and bibliographic references).
The research techniques proposed in the methodology are:
 Observational research: in different Allotment Gardens (AG) sites, processing
data from the information from Parks and Countryside, SCC. The AG will be
classified on stratified sampling method (e.g. location, size, tenant’s age). As a
preliminary research, the objective is to scope the general dynamics of the
sites and their situation within the social context.
 Determination of multiple case studies in stratified samples: there are
approximately 3500 AG in the city in 70 different sites with specific
characteristics in terms of economic, environmental and social issues. The
procedures will determine statistically different strata and the number of
samples required to infer for the rest of the total population of AG
(Denscombe, 2003).
 Face to face questionnaire: in each of the case studies (AGs) a questionnaire
will be performed with the objective of describing the management of the AG.
 Site survey: additionally to the questionnaire, a basic survey will be performed
with the aim to triangulate data and valuate design, signs of erosion,
biodiversity or any other relevant aspect.
 Evaluation of sustainability exercise: with the data collected, the proceedings
will lead us to determine indicators of sustainability as the methodology
proposed underlines. These indicators will be monitored and evaluated.

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9. Identify the ethical issues relevant to your proposed study and make
sure to fill in the ethics check list (see further below) and attach it to this
proposal.
See checklist below.

10. Anticipated Timetable

Date
i) Examination Board to which proposal will be submitted May
ii) Completion of all preparation and design work End of May
iii) Start field work or information/data collection Beginning of June
iv) Finish fieldwork or information/data collection End of July
v) Start analysis of information/data Beginning of August
vi) Finish analysis End of August
vii) start writing up the dissertation Beginning of September
viii) finish writing up Middle of October
ix) hand-in dissertation to the University End of October

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11. The proposal
Primary Research Question
Can the allotment gardens (AG), as a form of urban agriculture, contribute
significantly to the sustainable development of Sheffield?

Secondary research questions

 What impact has the products and services provided by AG in the Local Food
production, the leisure and health and wellbeing activities and wildlife
conservation? What are the opportunities and constrains within their activity?
 How sustainable is the current management of the AG in Sheffield?
 Which land management and design of the AG has a better contribution to the
sustainable development?
 What are the attitudes and behaviour in relation to the environment of the AG
holders/users? Does an AG holder/user have a better understanding of their
environment in comparison with the national average?
 What is the future of the AG in relationship with government’s policies and
strategies?
 Which elements in the land management and design of the AG could be change to
improve and to enhance their contribution to the sustainable development of
Sheffield?
 Is the process of evaluation of sustainability appropriate to assess the AG in the
city? Could it be replicated to other locations or situations?

AIM
 To evaluate the contribution of the allotment gardens of Sheffield to the local
food production and the sustainable development of the city.

OBJECTIVES
 To perform an evaluation of the sustainability of the AG in Sheffield, taking
especial attention to the management and current design.
 To determine and measure the most significant impacts of the products and
services provided by AG in relation to the Local Food production, recreation and
wildlife conservation.
 To assess the effect of current international, regional, national and local strategies
and regulations in AG and its activities and to analyse future tendencies.
 To evaluate the perception of AG in the local people, whether they are users or
not.
 To describe the externalities the AG provide or produce to the people and the
surrounding natural environment.
 To test and calibrate the proposed methodologies of sustainability appraisal to
ensure objectivity, significance and practicality.

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  To highlight the elements of the design and management of the AG could be
improved, changed or/and rearranged to enhance or ensure significant
contribution to the sustainable development of the city.

Hypothesis
The AGs of Sheffield contributes significantly to the Local Food production and
the global sustainable development of the city. The measurement and
evaluation of the management and design of the AG in terms of sustainability
is an appropriate exercise to determine ways of improvement and to justify
changes on the decision-making process.

Topic, Theories and Concepts

Local food: global panorama
In a world of globalisation as we are living in now, the food industry has changed
dramatically in order to satisfy the increasing demand for vegetables and fruits all the
year round. This situation generates serious problems as concentration of the food
supply and sales, large increase in the distance food travels (associated to
environmental, social and economic inconveniences) and the loss of local food
production and distribution.
Since the international community acknowledged the threat of global climate change,
different strategies are in place to try to solve the problem of food supply and
consumption. The Agenda 21 is one of the flag documents in the current strategies of
every government. It recommends activities aimed at the promotion of food security and,
where appropriate, food self-sufficiency within the context of sustainable agriculture (UN,
1992). The promotion of locally produced and distributed food could solve this issue.
The EU is currently promoting a sustainable consumption and production line. One of the
aims is to improve a sustainable local production in ‘life-cycle thinking’ (European
Communities, 2004). The UK government has responded to this in the last few years with
the publication of policy and strategy documents. In the Sustainable Farming and Food
Strategy: Forward Look (DEFRA, 2006), one of the main objectives is to respond to the
demand for high quality, seasonal or locally sourced produce delivered through strong local
food chains.

The urban agriculture and the Allotment Gardens (AG) in England

Urban agriculture (UA) involves the production of food, raw materials and services within
or in the surrounding boundaries of cities. This activity is integrated into (Garnett, T.
1996):
 Local urban economic system (skills training, local goods and services and
building an alternative economy).
 Local urban ecological system (increasing bio-diversity, tackling waste and
reducing transport).

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  Local urban social system (community identity, active citizenship, combating age,
gender and ethnic discrimination, health promotion and leisure).

The Allotment Gardens (AG) have been in existence for more than 300 years (Poole,
2006). During all this time, the AGs have been answering the needs of the working class
with an economic perspective. The most important movement towards the
universalisation of the AG comes from the campaign Dig for Victory during the World War
II, arriving to 1.75 million of plots in 1943 in Great Britain.
The people of Sheffield have a large tradition in the use and development of AG as
productive spaces, as we can find in texts such as Buchan in 1760 (cited in Flavell, 2003):

In the town of Sheffield in Yorkshire where the great iron manufacture is carried on,
there is hardly a journeyman cutler who does not possess a piece of ground which he
cultivates as a garden. This practice has many salutary effects. It not only induces
these people to take exercise without doors, but also to eat many greens, roots &c
of their own growth, which they would never think of purchasing.

There are over 3,000 plots in 70 sites run by SCC, in addition to almost the same amount
of privately owned. Since the end of rationed food in 1954 and extension of
supermarkets during the 60’s and 70’s and a more wealthy population have a negative
impact in the AG movement, under the pressure of developers and planners, falling to
250,000 plots In 1999 in England.
The global threat of climate change and the new vision on sustainable development
bring new opportunities to improve and encourage the use of AG as one of the
contributors to the sustainable communities.

Research Methods
Methodology
In order to prove the stated hypothesis, we
will utilise an adaptation of a commonly used
evaluation framework, MESMIS
(Methodology for the Evaluation of Systems
of Management incorporating Indicators of
Sustainability), proposed by Astier and
Masera (2000). The figure 1 summarise the
processes involved.
The procedures include a 6 step cycle pattern
(see fig. 1), divided in two phases: the fist 3
steps determine and characterise the
management system, its critical points of
sustainability and strategic indicators. The
second phase is related to management of
information: monitoring and evaluation,

Figure 1 MESMIS 6 step cycle (Masera et al, 2000)

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presentation of results and conclusions and recommendations. This last step leads to the
next cycle where the improvements will be addressed. The MESMIS states that
sustainability cannot be assess in an absolute measure. In order to solve this dilemma, it
uses the contrast between reference and alternative system to determine whether the
analysed indicator is a “more sustainable than” format. In its conception, a
multidisciplinary approach is necessary to interact with local actors in a participatory
formulation, with the objective to perform all the steps mentioned above.
At the end of the process, we will be able to determine a comparative judgement in the
different scenarios using indicators such as food miles, agro-biodiversity or CO2
emissions.
In a preliminary stage, the AG (Land Management Systems, LMS) will be characterised
and classified using specific criteria, such as size, location or tenant’s age. After that, in
order to infer the study to Sheffield as a whole, we will determine by statistic analysis the
significant amount of case studies in which the evaluation of sustainability will take place.
Once these scenarios have been chosen, we will use a piloting survey face-to-face with a
design questionnaire involving the critical points for sustainability. The result of the
analysis of this data will be the production of Indicators, which will be measured.
The analysis of all this data will support the answer of the research question and the
statement of significant recommendations.

Atributes of Sustainable Management Systems

Productivity Adaptability Estability Equity Self reliance

SLM reference alternative

Units of scale Temporal scale Space scale

Critical points for sustainability

Environmental Economic Social

Diagnostic criteria

Indicators of sustainability

Figure 2. MESMIS framework (Masera et al, 2000)

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Practical Constrains
Magnitude
As any study, the depth and the magnitude could be different and it is related to the
amount on resources involved in the project. I believe this proposal covers the
requirements of an MSc dissertation, but the magnitude (in terms of space and time) of
the study could be constraining. The real option to solve this inconvenient will come
with the pre-scoping study from the observation research.

Parks and countryside and other institutions

SCC and especially the Allotments’ office will take a key role during the investigation,
supporting with information and permissions.
Another important participant in the research will be Sheffield Wildlife Trust. As I said, I
have a good relation with SWT and they are keen in support any aspect of the
investigation related to their field of knowledge.
I’ve contacted some other associations as Growing Sheffield with positive feedback.

Allotments associations and users

The study will be carried out in different plots in the city and the help and support of the
AG associations and the users of those plots are crucial.

Student’s signature
Date

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RESEARCH ETHICS CHECKLIST
Title of the project:

Urban agriculture in the sustainable communities: the role of the

Allotment Gardens (AG) as a contributor to the sustainable
development of Sheffield.

Issues to address Yes/No

1 Is this a research* project? YES
(See the accompanying notes for a definition of research)
2 Does the research involve the NHS as defined below? NO
 NHS staff, volunteers, patients or their carers
 Tissues, organs or personal information of the above
 NHS premises or facilities
3 Does it involve human participants, data or tissue? YES

4 Does it involve vulnerable participants as defined below? NO

 Infants and children under the age of eighteen
 People with learning or communication difficulties or
serious mental health problems
 Patients in hospital or under the care of social services
 People in custody or on probation
 People engaged in illegal activities such as drug abuse
 Persons with a condition or illness which is directly being
investigated in the study
(British Psychological Society, 2004)
5 Does it involve sensitive topics? NO
E.g. Topics likely to cause significant embarrassment or
discomfort to participants; topics relating to highly personal
information or involving invasion of privacy; topics related to
illegal activity
6 Does it involve collection of data that is not anonymous? NO

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I confirm that I have read the Sheffield Hallam University Research Ethics Policy and
Procedures document and agree to abide by its principles
Student / Researcher Principal Investigator/Supervisor

Name: Ramiro Bastos Name:

Signature: Signature:

Faculty: Development and society Faculty:

Date: Date:

Risk Assessment
The research will take place mainly in AG around Sheffield in various locations. Following
the guidance of the Health and Safety at Work act 1974 and Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the usual procedures will take place before any field
task in order to determine potential hazards and evaluate the risk to decide whether
existing precautions are adequate. Any hazard or risk during the research activities will
be recorded and the assessment reviewed if it is necessary.
The identifiable situations where could be a threat of hazard are:
 Physical hazards:
 Topographic, particularly when the site is in hill sides, holes in the ground
and any impediment related to landscape.
 Weather, when rain could create a risk of flooding or extreme hot
temperatures could threat the health of the researcher.
 Water issues, related to streams, rivers or dams present on the site.
 Structures, as old sheds, greenhouses and waste sometimes present in
AGs that could be a potential harm.
 Remoteness, when some of the sites surveyed are far from any urban area. The
research team will take particular attention to work in pairs and be prepared to
any eventuality of accident or emergency during the field work.
 Assault, as some of the sites are near areas where assault rate are higher. The plan
will always include permanent communication via mobile phones and never work
alone.
 Livestock and wild animals, when in some of the sites livestock as cows, horses or
other animal that could be a threat or be threaten by the presence of the research
team.
 Chemical/biological hazards, particularly when the site presents a known
contaminated area.

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