Can food self-reliance support urban sustainability? The lessons from urban gardening in North Korea

Cities. 2024. Vol. 151. Article 105106.

Pavel P. Em

Although sustainable urban development has been conceptualized in a vast array of proposals, it seems that the prioritization of economic development over environmental and social concerns limits real progress in making cities more sustainable. This paper studies whether an orientation towards self-reliance can contribute in some way to urban sustainability through examining the case of gardening in North Korean cities. The results demonstrate that even though self-reliance has long been a part of the national ideology, only its practice at the household level has resulted in significant improvements in urban sustainability. The key therein lies in family ties, the responsibility to which oblige people to actively practice a more conscious consumer behavior. Meanwhile, the economic empowerment of women, who sell a part of the harvest from their urban gardens at the local market, has not precipitated their broader involvement in either social or political activities.

Keywords: КНДР, DPRK, Pyongyang, устойчивое развитие городов, Пхеньян, sustainable urban development