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Headshot of Joe Nasr

Joe Nasr PhD

Certificate Instructor and Associate Researcher

Instructor for: CFNY 408 Urban Food Security, CVFN 410 Understanding Urban AgricultureCVFN 413 Urban Agriculture Policy-Making


Joe Nasr is an independent scholar, lecturer and consultant based in Toronto who has been exploring urban agriculture and food security issues for over a quarter century. He holds a 1997 doctorate in urban and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania and has received several fellowships over the years. As associate of the Centre for Studies in Food Security, he co-curated the traveling exhibit, book and website Carrot City: Designing for Urban Agriculture (www.carrotcity.org (external link) ), and coordinated the programming for the 2012 Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto.

Joe is co-founder of Toronto Urban Growers (external link)  and member of the Toronto Food Policy Council (external link) . He is co-author or co-editor of four books and dozens of articles, including the seminal book Urban Agriculture (www.jacsmit.com/book.html (external link) ); he is also co-editor of an Urban Agriculture Book Series (www.springer.com/series/11815 (external link) ).

Joe teaches regularly at Ryerson’s Chang School courses on urban agriculture and food security and has taught at a number of universities in several countries.

Select Publications

Nasr, J., Komisar, J. & de Zeeuw, H. (2017). A panorama of rooftop agriculture types. In Rooftop Urban Agriculture, ed. F. Orsini, M. Dubbeling, H. de Zeeuw & G. Gianquinto. Switzerland: Springer.

Gorgolewski M., Komisar, J. & Nasr, J. (2011). Carrot City: Creating Places for Urban Agriculture. New York: Monacelli Press.

Mendes, W. & Nasr J. (2011). Preparing future food system planning professionals and scholars: Reflections on teaching experiences. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, vol. 2, no. 1 (Fall): 15–52.

Nasr, J. & Padilla, M. (eds.) (2004). Interfaces: Agricultures et Villes à l’Est et au Sud de la Méditerranée. Beirut: Editions Delta & IFPO.

Smit, J., Ratta, A. & Nasr, J. (2001). Urban Agriculture: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities. New York: United Nations Development Programme. 2nd edition (1st ed.: 1996).

Updated January 2018