The application of MESMIS for the promotion of urban and peri-urbanagriculture in the construction of sustainable territories in Central Mexico

Abstract

This paper is the result of the research entitled “Towards food sustainability: Urban and peri-urban
agriculture networks in Central Mexico”, whose objective is to examine the interrelationships of
rural-urban spaces in function of the sustainability of urban and peri-urban agriculture to form
short circuits for the benefit of the environment and peasant lifestyles within the agri-food systems
of the region within the framework of the project “Mega-Urbanization in the Central Region of
Mexico, Socio-Territorial Inequality and New Peri-Urbanization Processes. (Project PAPIIT IG
300122). The analysis approach was carried out with the Framework for the Evaluation of Natural
Resource Management Systems Incorporating Sustainability Indicators (MESMIS) for two case
studies of new markets derived from agroecology brought about in the midst of the Sars Cov-2,
Covid-19 pandemic. Likewise, cartographic tools were used to integrate agri-food systems. The
discussion addresses how urban agriculture practices contribute to improving local food systems.
The results identify the basket of goods offered by peri-urban territories to guide regions and
food systems towards sustainability, seeking to strengthen the preservation of social and natural
resources in the Central Region of Mexico.