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This paper defines Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) as a strategy for the coherent integration of urban agriculture into urban space planning. The case is made for considering urban agriculture as an essential element of sustainable infrastructure.

Recent and historic arguments are used to support the qualitative and quantifiable advantages of introducing urban agriculture into contemporary open urban space design.

The body of the paper focuses on design issues related to the placing and perception of CPUL and urban agriculture. It draws on primary research undertaken in Cuba, considering Cuba as a laboratory for design research into urban agriculture.

Design studies by the authors are used to demonstrate the viability and physical manifestation of urban agriculture within a Continuous Productive Urban Landscape. The paper proposes that, while an environmental and design case can be made for the integration of urban agriculture, planners and designers need to explore the public perception of productive landscape if its full potential is to be realized.

The idea that urban agriculture can be read as “ornament” is discussed with reference to the writing of British artist Tom Phillips. Contemporary cultural/artistic practice is referred to as a means for exploring and communicating ideas related to productive urban landscapes.

The paper concludes with new research findings related to the public perception of open urban space based on the Havana CPUL design research project “Finding Parque Lenin”.

Strategies to enable alternative urban food systems cannot be developed alone by those involved with the production and distribution aspects of food systems. It is important for architects, landscape designers and planners to be part of the process of conceiving and implementing innovative food-system thinking. Environmentally focused building standards and models for sustainable communities can easily incorporate farmers' markets, greenhouses, edible landscapes, permeable paving, green roofs, community gardens, and permaculture and other food-related strategies that complement energy generation and conservation, green roofs, living walls, and other approaches that have been more commonly part of sustainable built-environment initiatives.

Recently, architecture faculty and students at Ryerson University in Toronto and at a number of other universities have been exploring the intersection of these disciplines and interests. This paper will show how Ryerson tackled agricultural and food issues as design challenges in projects that included first-year community investigations, student-run design competitions, third-year studio projects and complex final-year thesis projects. These projects that dealt with food issues proved to be excellent entry points for addressing a range of design challenges including social inclusion, cultural context, community design and sustainable building practices.