Land quality, urban development and urban agriculture within the Cape Town urban edge

The article analyses the consumption of agricultural land within the Cape Town urban edge between 2002 and 2007. The agricultural potential of the developed land and the distribution of land uses are analysed to determine the impact of urban growth on urban agriculture. The research indicates that low-density residential development is still the major consumer of high-potential agricultural land within the Cape Town urban edge. Commercial, industrial and informal residential development has little impact on the loss of agricultural land. High-potential agricultural land is not sufficiently protected. Urban agriculture is limited by open competition with more profitable land uses such as residential development. Consequently, the paper argues for a flexible urban containment policy whereby high-potential agricultural land within the urban edge is reserved solely for agricultural production, while land with little agricultural potential outside the urban edge should be made available for future urban development.