Journal of strongRuralstrong Studies - World Agricultures Watch.pdfVIP

Journal of Rural Studies 30 (2013) 52 e63 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Rural Studies journal homepage: www.els /loc ate/jrurstud Understanding peri-urban maize production through an examination of household livelihoods in the Toluca Metropolitan Area, Mexico Amy M. Lerner a, *, Hallie Eakin b, Stuart Sweeney a a University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Geography, 1832 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060, United States b Arizona State University, School of Sustainability, PO Box 875502, Tempe, AZ 85287-5502, United States a b s t r a c t Keywords: The rates of urban growth globally continue to rise, especially in small and intermediary cities and peri- Peri-urbanization urban areas of the developing world. Communities in these settings share characteristics with rural Ruraleurban areas, in terms of continued connections with agriculture, yet with an increasing reliance of non- Livelihoods Maize agricultural employment which poses challenges for policy and planning shaped by dichotomous Mexico configurations of space. This study focuses on maize producers in the Toluca Metropolitan Area, west of Identity Mexico City, which is a traditional maize production region that also has exhibited high rates of industrial and residential