Developing and Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract

Authors

Michele Schoeneberger, United States Department of Agriculture, National Agroforestry Center, Southern Research Station, Forest Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Gary Bentrup, United States Department of Agriculture, National Agroforestry Center, Southern Research Station, Forest Service, Lincoln, NebraskaFollow
Charles A. Francis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Richard Straight, United States Department of Agriculture, National Agroforestry Center, Southern Research Station, Forest Service, Lincoln, Nebraska

Document Type

Book Chapter

Date of this Version

2006

Citation

Chapter 11 in Developing and Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract, pages 225-246

Charles A. Francis, Raymond P. Poincelot, and George W. Bird, editors

Haworth Press, 2006

chapter doi: 10.1300/5709_11

Comments

United States government work

Abstract

Conclusions

Based on the practical community applications of woody buffe rs and multifuncti onal areas that grew from the ini tial concepts ofecobelts. we are convinced that this type of initiative is a viable option in establishing a positive interface between different types of human activities. The challenge becomes more real every day, as cities expand and both city-edge subdivisions and acreages create ever more interfaces between people with different and often con!1icting activities and basic values. There is a need to provide some logical and acceptable boundary between these people and their different lifestyles. It is also desirable to provide some tangible limits to physical spread of cities, and a need to explore creative ways to intill and increase urban density.

The case studies in Topeka and Kansas City metro areas provide tangible evidence that innovative partnering and design of green space can effectively reduce conflict at the rural-urban interface as well as serve multiple functions for the local community. By further expanding and testing the idea of ecobelts, we can find additional ways of helping our complex society cope with the complexities of spatial organization of human activities for the future. By recognizing that the most important linkages are those among people who share limited space, we can focus on the process necessary to bring people together to seek common understanding and work in unison to solve the community'S problems. Ecobelts can be an important part of these solutions.