This paper explores the nature of industry and enterprise change in the context of Melbourne’s broad city region and surrounding landscapes. It seeks to determine the implications for agriculture of change in peri-urban land use, industry structures and landscapes.

Through an extensive analysis of land use planning instruments, this paper reviews the extent of urban agriculture planning in most Australian capital cities. A survey of local governments in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide provides a snapshot of urban agriculture planning in contemporary Australia – revealing that purposeful urban agriculture planning is almost non-existent.

Assisted by concerns and movements associated with concepts such as; ‘food miles’, grow local, ‘slow food’, farmers markets, food security, the social and community benefits of growing your own food, community gardens and the realization of the links between food and the local economy, urban agriculture is experiencing a strong revival.

Land use on the periphery of urban centres is of critical importance in the sustainability of healthy cities, food security, and natural resource management. The paper argues that it is essential to recognise the “public good” of open space and agriculture in the urban and periurban contexts.

This paper discusses the role of community gardens in building healthy and sustainable communities. Focussing on a large high-rise public housing estate in Sydney’s inner west, the community garden scheme studied was part of an urban renewal program designed to ameliorate ongoing social problems on the estate.