Agro-Blue Commons: Reframing Recreation through Food–Water–Leisure Integration in the Global South

Recreational planning in the Global South is frequently constrained by Western models that prioritize ornamental aesthetics over local socio-ecological crises, resulting in metabolically inefficient and exclusionary landscapes. This paper proposes the Agro-Blue Commons (ABC): a reframed infrastructure that integrates food production, sustainable water management, and communal leisure. The framework is validated through a qualitative meta-synthesis of four illustrative prototypes in Lagos, Mumbai, Rajasthan, and Nairobi, selected via purposive sampling to represent diverse biomes and climate-vulnerable informality archetypes. These cases were evaluated using a diagnostic Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA) focused on metabolic circularity, governance polycentricity, and socio-spatial accessibility. Drawing on non-colonial Northern precedents—such as Goetel’s socialized nature and Krakow’s health-integrated gardens—the ABC model treats recreation as a survival metabolism. The study explores how intersectional governance, including labor-for-resource credits, and anti-gentrification strategies like "Just Green Enough" can transition ornamental spaces into productive commons. Results demonstrate that triadic integration (food–water–leisure) enhanced by polycentric stewardship increases urban resilience and reduces resource dependency. However, systemic change requires addressing municipal barriers, specifically institutional inertia and insecure land tenure, to prevent the speculative displacement of marginalized communities. By situating the model within established planning frameworks—such as Mumbai’s DP 2034 and Nairobi’s Urban Agriculture Act—the ABC framework provides a decolonized, actionable roadmap for the resilient 21st-century city.