As a multifunctional activity and land use, urban agriculture supports a range of objectives, from urban greening to food security. However, it is often left out of urban policy. As a result of the highly contextual and cross-cutting nature of urban agriculture, there are relatively few comprehensive and formalized regulatory tools to draw from. Different cities around the world are now deciding how to fit urban agriculture into the urban agenda; however, in many places urban agriculture continues to operate in the absence of legitimization due to its relatively mobile and dynamic nature. This article looks at the importance of local and central governments in promoting sustainable urban agriculture. Through participatory action research, it examines the cases of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Copenhagen, Denmark to understand stakeholder interactions, as well as present and future barriers to the conservation of existing urban agriculture and future initiatives. The findings suggest that municipal recognition and institutional support for urban agriculture is an important component in increasing the sustainability of related initiatives. Local and central government plays a role in the legitimization and institutionalization of urban agriculture through the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes, policy development and the conservation and allocation of land.