Urban agriculture as community engagement in Manchester

Manchester is the UK’s third largest city. Approximately half a million people live in the inner city, located within the surrounding region of Greater Manchester, where 2.25 million people reside. Socio-economic inequalities and social exclusion are contributing to rising health problems, including obesity. Some parts of the city are known as ‘food deserts’, where residents have little access to healthy food. Urban redevelopment favouring supermarket chains has been blamed for these problems. One response has been local food initiatives, which provide broader access to healthy, fresh food.