Food and the City

Course manual 2021/2022

Course content

Fashioning a sustainable food system is one of the most compelling challenges of the 21st Century.  Because of its multi-functional character, food is an ideal medium through which to design sustainable places, be they urban, rural or peri-urban places. 

Food may be construed as a socio-technical system that includes the way food is produced, processed, acquired, distributed, consumed as well as the way scraps are disposed of. Contemporary planners are challenged to develop design concepts and planning devices which can be applied in the process of moulding places for food related actions, and which can help pave a path towards more sustainable and healthy lifestyles. This course focuses in on advanced theories and concepts in the domain of sustainable food planning, planning for healthier lifestyles and management of healthier and more sustainable social practices.

The food system is shaped by everyday practices that are performed in specific places. As the world is rapidly urbanising, and more than half of the global population now lives in urban areas, the city is a particularly interesting place to study the food system. Cities are tightly bundled agglomerations of everyday practices, and are the stages on which more or less healthy and sustainable practices are repeatedly performed until they become normal everyday activities. Municipal policies, programs, and infrastructure influence practices, while activists, political leaders media and teachers shape our understanding of practices. By strategically influencing food practices, cities can potentially advance public health, improve the environment and economy, and ultimately transform the food system.

This course aims to understand the linkages between food and the city, and how we could enhance an alternative, more sustainable food system (in social, environmental and economic terms). The course explains alternative spatial arrangements as tools to support the transition towards a more sustainable food system and food practices, illustrated with examples from both the Global North and Global South.

Study materials

Literature

• The course uses two books:

   

  Cabannes, Y. & Marocchino, C. (Eds.) (2018). Integrating Food into Urban Planning. Rome: FAO.

  Ilieva, R. T. (2016). Urban Food Plannig: Seeds of Transition in the Global North. Routledge, London

   

  Ilieva's book is available online via the University Library or can be bought via Athenaeum and similar platforms (€49,99).

  The FAO book can be downloaded for free (http://www.fao.org/3/CA2260EN/ca2260en.pdf) or bought via UCL Press for £27.99 (https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/111613).

   

  Please find below the assigned reading for each lecture. The articles can be found online.

   

  Lecture 1

  Chapter 1 from Ilieva (2016)

  Pothukuchi, K., & Kaufman, J. L. (1999). Placing the food system on the urban agenda: The role of municipal institutions in food systems planning. Agriculture and Human Values, 16(2), 213-224.

   

  Lecture 2

  Chapter 3 from Ilieva (2016)

  Wiskerke, J. S. (2009). On places lost and places regained: Reflections on the alternative food geography and sustainable regional development. International Planning Studies, 14(4), 369-387.

   

  Lecture 3

  Chapter 5 and 7 from Ilieva (2016)

  Skimming through Chapter 2 from Ilieva (2016)

   

  Lecture 4 - Guest lecture by em. prof. dr. Arnold van der Valk (Wageningen University) and Ciska Ulug (University of Groningen)
  

  Chapter 6 and 7 (p.200-213) from Ilieva (2016)

   

  Lecture 5

  Chapter 4 from Ilieva (2016)

  Lang, T., & Barling, D. (2012). Food security and food sustainability: reformulating the debate. The Geographical Journal, 178(4), 313-326.

   

  Lecture 6

  Chapter 8 from Ilieva (2016)

  Born, B., & Purcell, M. (2006). Avoiding the local trap: Scale and food systems in planning research. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 26(2), 195-207.

   

  Working group 2
  

  Chapters 3, 5, 10 and 14 from Cabannes & Marocchino (2018)

   

  Working group 3

  Chapters 2, 8, 9 and 12 from Cabannes & Marocchino (2018)

Objectives

• Explain the spatial arrangements, institutional designs and value systems of different food systems, and their impact on cities
• Explain the role of urban planning in the transition towards a re-localized food system
• Analyse international examples of urban food planning and their impact on the transition towards a re-localized food system
• Critically reflect on the shift towards a re-localized food system, and the contribution of urban planning

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study

The lectures will introduce the key concepts of the course, and provide two theoretical frameworks to understand food-city dynamics (transition theory and institutional analysis). The lectures will predominantly discuss examples from the Global North, while the working groups will also center on examples from cities in the Global South. Students have to present twice during two of the working groups. The theoretical concepts and empirical lessons from the international examples will also be applied to the City of Amsterdam. The excursion will show students the re-localized food system in the Amsterdam region with a visit to the 'Boeren van Amstel' initiative.

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses.
• In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the students attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed.

Additional requirements for this course:

Participation in the three working groups is compulsory. Students can only miss a working group by providing a good reason that has been communicated in advance with the tutors Jaap Rothuizen or Lotus Arian.

Students have to give two presentations in the working groups. Both have to be assessed as sufficient by the tutors in order to pass the course.

Participation in the excursion is compulsory.

Lecture 1 and 4 are compulsory lectures.

Students that have missed any of the activities above cannot participate in the exam, and thus not complete the course.

Assessment

The book chapters used from the FAO book in the working groups are not compulsory reading material for the exam.

Assessment diagram

Students that were enrolled in the course in previous years

Not applicable.

Inspection of assessed work

Up to 20 working days after the announcement of the results students have the right of inspection of their work (all forms of assessment). You can request a copy of your work by e-mailing your work group teacher or the course coordinator.

The teachers of this course will provide a scoring form to all students. On an individual base, you can make an appointment with your work group teacher.

Assignments

Working group: presentations

In two working groups, students will give in small groups a presentation of the key insights from an international case study as discussed in the book by Cabannes and Marocchino. The presentation discusses the case study in depth, and the lessons we can learn from them. The precise demands of the presentations are specified in preparatory assignments that will be introduced in the first working group. The two presentations will together be assessed as sufficient/insufficient.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

In order to participate in the course, you have to enroll in time. Registration for courses is possible per semester. The registration period for courses in Block 1, 2 & 3 (first semester) will be from June 13th until June 25th. 

This course is open to elective students, though not to first year students. However, it should be realized that this course has a strong focus on social science. An elective student should have social scientific experience and/or interest (at least 30 EC in prior academic education, including the course Introduction Spatial Planning). Therefore, interested candidates can only enroll after an assessment by the course coordinator. To apply as an elective or minor student, send a request of admission to fps-iis-science@uva.nl.

When you have registered for the course you are automatically registered for the examination of this course, too. You can only participate in a re-sit (or re-examination of assignments) when you have been registered and have met all requirements for the course (i.e. attendance requirements, active participation in work groups, handing in assignments before the indicated deadlines etc.).

Important information such as literature, sheets of the lectures, assignments and unforeseen changes in the schedule will be communicated via Canvas.

Activities take place on campus unless otherwise stated on Canvas. A livestream will be made available for students who have to watch from home (Covid-19 regulations). There will be no videos of the lectures posted on Canvas.

Last year's course evaluation

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. Jannes Willems

Guest lecturers: em. prof. dr. Arnold van der Valk (Wageningen University) and Ciska Ulug (University of Groningen)

Working group teachers: Jaap Rothuizen Msc and Lotus Arian MSc