Focus-area: City region food systems
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COVID-19: a growing opportunity for community gardening in London
Authors: Victoria Schoen (University of Kent) and Chris Blythe (Social Farms & Gardens) As the UK went into COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, many community gardens in London stepped up as emergency food providers, despite unclear government advice on whether they could continue operating. Highlighting the flexible, community-centred approach of such gardens, as well as…
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The Women Producers’ Markets of Mezitli, Turkey
Author: Jess Halliday The Turkish city of Mezitli established its first markets exclusively for women producers in 2014. Six years later, some 650 women hold stalls at nine bi-weekly markets across the city, selling fruit and vegetables, olive oils, cakes, breads, desserts, teas, and all manner of other home-produced items. Hurrem Betul Levent Erdal, programme…
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A Call for Transformative Actions on Gender and Inequality
The new issue of Urban Agriculture Magazine (UAM37), Gender in Urban Food Systems, is now published. The articles in this issue identify the ways in which gender and inclusivity have been neglected in urban food policy, practice and research. The editors call upon the international community to lead the way in enabling truly transformative actions…
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Join us for #AfricanCITYFOODmonth
The month of July is #AfricanCITYFOODmonth and RUAF, together with ICLEI Africa, FAO, MUFPP, WWF and partners invite you to explore how we make resilient and nutritious food systems in African cities. The inaugural #AfricanCITYFOODmonth campaign will highlight diverse, innovative and evolving African urban food systems, providing a platform for local governments and food system…
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Urban agriculture thrives in Nairobi during COVID-19 crisis
Author: Sam Ikua, Mazingira Institute The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted urban rural linkages, posing unprecedented challenges to cities and their systems. City lockdowns have affected the flow of people and goods into and out of cities. This disruption has created food shortages, putting a majority of the urban population at risk of being food insecure.…
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Standing on the threshold: COVID-19 and our food system
Author: Barbara Emanuel I recently retired as Manager of the Toronto Food Strategy and retirement has thrust me into a liminal state. The word “liminal” means being on the threshold; it is a point or place of entering or beginning, when you are no longer in your current state but haven’t fully transitioned yet to…
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Local food system responses to COVID-19: Toronto and its city region
Authors: Lori Stahlbrand (George Brown College) and Wayne Roberts (Food Systems Analyst) Toronto and its city region – known as the Greater Golden Horseshoe – is the most populous area in Canada, with nine million inhabitants. As in much of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the economy, leading to spiraling unemployment, increased food…
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How Quito’s urban and peri-urban gardens contribute to the COVID-19 response
Author: Alexandra Rodríguez, Head of the Participatory Urban Agriculture Project AGRUPAR, Economic Promotion Agency CONQUITO With the spread of COVID-19, the world is in the throes of a global health crisis that will reshape the economy, society and politics, probably permanently. There is widespread concern about the impact of the pandemic on the livelihoods and…
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City Region Food Systems to cope with COVID-19 and other pandemic emergencies
Written by: Alison Blay-Palmer, Jess Halliday, Guido Santini, Makiko Taguchi, and René van Veenhuizen This blog has been developed by RUAF Partners with FAO and is also posted at the FAO City-region food system website, where you also find a series of blogs on various city and country experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting…
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Strengthening city-region food systems during and beyond COVID-19
Pay Drechsel, Senior fellow, International Water Management Institute (IWMI Cities, like any area where population densities peak, are hot spots for the spread of epidemics. This is even more pronounced in those that attract many rural-urban commuters. Or in international travel destinations. Clearly, if we are to control the spread of COVID-19, any countermeasures must…