Restoring Singapore's Food Collective Actualisation Through Regenerative Agrarian Dynamics

<p dir="ltr">This practice-led research investigates the possibilities and constraints of restoring food collective actualisation in Singapore through regenerative agrarian dynamics, situated within a land-scarce, hyper-urbanised island-state shaped by neoliberal governance. Drawing on a decade of embedded practice with Edible Garden City (EGC), a social enterprise pioneering community-centric urban farming—this thesis explores how urban food sovereignty can be reinterpreted beyond its conventional agrarian roots and realised through tactical spatial interventions, community activation, and care-based farming models. </p><p dir="ltr">Through the enactment of over 280 edible gardens and farming initiatives, the research examines the evolving role of urban agriculture as more than a technical solution to food production, but as a socio-ecological catalyst for intergenerational engagement, community cohesion, and inclusive urban space-making. The inquiry contextualises Singapore’s food security agenda against broader geopolitical and ecological shifts in the Anthropocene and proposes new evaluative frameworks such as the Urban Food Sovereignty Index and the Landscape Nutrition Index, to measure nutrient equity and participatory agency in urbanised contexts. </p><p dir="ltr">This thesis contributes new knowledge through reflective documentation of achievements, failures, frictions, and adaptations within the practice of EGC, offering insights into the sociopolitical dynamics of urban agrarian reform. While acknowledging the limitations of land availability and systemic constraints, it foregrounds the critical role of relational, place-based, and care-oriented farming practices in shaping regenerative food futures for cities.</p>