Food Systems: New-Ruralism vs. New-Urbanism

There is a growing debate on whether agricultural land in urban fringe should be maintained or converted to other uses. While ‘pro-ruralists’ believe agricultural land conversion can threaten food security and cause rural-urban migration, ‘pro-urbanists’ find it a necessary change for transition from a primitive agricultural-based community to an advanced industrialbased society which has the capacity to create mass productions. New-Ruralists follow an agricultural-based development approach that promotes small-medium farming and acknowledges rural lifestyle while New-Urbanists give a priority to large industrial-based sectors and encourage urban lifestyle. Given unlike concerns of different societies, the paper concludes that the approaches might have different priorities in less developed, developing, and developed world.