Municipal authorities increasingly understand the role (intra - and peri --RRB-
urban farmers can play in environmental management (like the recycling of
urban wastes,
urban stormwater management, lowering
urban temperatures and dust, maintaining
urban biodiversity) while innovative
farmers in and around cities are
offering nowadays a variety of recreational services (staying on farm, horse riding, etcetera), playing a role in maintaining the cultural landscape and other services (e.g., on farm care for elderly people or with people with a psychological, eco-education,...) in response to the demands of citizens and city region managers.
The Municipality of Beijing is promoting the development of peri-
urban agro-tourism both in the form of larger agro-recreational parks as well as family - based agro-tourism:
farmers diversifying their activities by
offering services to
urban tourists (food, accommodation, sales of fresh and processed products, functioning as tourist guide, horse riding, etc.).