Urban villages in China, such as those in Chengdu’s Green Belt, are typical informal settlements inhabited by a large number of migrant workers. These workers maintain short-distance food systems characterized by small-scale agriculture and local food sales, which are crucial for food security. However, under the “grain security” policy, the government has been acquiring fragmented farmland in the Green Belt area for unified management by food companies. Simultaneously, urban village renewal driven by real estate development is demolishing low-rent housing and shops, threatening the livelihoods and homes of migrant workers.

This project conducts a cross-scale study in Chengdu’s Green Belt, Jinniu District, and Anjing urban village, integrating circular development and spatial justice theories into the urban regeneration discussion. The aim is to develop a vision, policy, and strategic framework for circular development in these sites, exploring how transforming city-scale food systems could drive the regeneration of urban villages by recognizing overlooked spaces and labor, thereby enhancing the well-being of marginalized groups.

The project begins with document analysis and mapping, summarizing the landscape characteristics of three types of urban villages and a concentrated farmland area. Subsequently, field surveys and interviews are conducted to collect data on the foodscapes managed by migrant workers. Supported by a literature review, a circular development assessment system is developed to evaluate these foodscapes. This assessment forms a planning vision for the development of a circular food system in the Green Belt, including the material flows of food, food waste, and construction debris. Based on this vision, a strategic framework called “Pattern Language” is proposed, focusing on socio-spatial adaptation, resource looping, ecological regeneration, and spatial justice.

The application logic of this framework is demonstrated through its implementation in the spatial structure planning of Jinniu District and the spatial design of Anjing urban village. Additionally, a simulated stakeholder co-design workshop showcases its potential to negotiate and balance the needs of different stakeholders across various knowledge backgrounds.

A transition is needed within the current agricultural sector. The intensive food production emits a significant amount of greenhouse gases, but also generates a nitrogen surplus. Consequently, biodiversity and soil quality have been decreasing dramatically in recent decades. One way of achieving a more sustainable food system is through regenerative agriculture, which is a nature-based practice where ecosystem services and soil health are central. This research aims to understand how the decentralisation of farming practices can aid a transition to regenerative agriculture in a socially just way. Through research by design, the concepts of decentralisation, regenerative agriculture and social justice were studied separately and layered on the project areas of different scales: Northwest Europe, South-Holland (NL) and Biesbosch National Park. The objective of this research is to develop a vision and strategy for these areas to achieve a socially just transition to regenerative agricultural practices. Based on literature, we propose a set of regenerative agriculture land-use typologies for Northwest Europe (i.e. nature buffer, food-forest, polyculture crop, polyculture crop-livestock mix, urban food parks). Next, we show how we can transition to these new land-uses, employing methods of spatial and systemic (administrative, fiscal, economic) decentralisation. Each transition is qualitatively assessed by its implications for social justice in local communities and its potential to improve soil quality of the region. On a local scale, for the Biesbosch area in the province of South-Holland, a strategy is proposed that is based on our vision for Northwest Europe. Through local strategic interventions and the empowerment of existing initiatives and cooperatives, we show that the proposed land-use patterns and decentralised food chain can mitigate biodiversity loss and foster local agri-food networks that provide food security in a sustainable way.