City Regions as Landscapes for People, Food and Nature

Connecting Across the Continuum

City Regions as Landscapes for People, Food and Nature is a new take on integrated landscapes that highlights important linkages between cities, peri-urban areas and rural areas. Challenges like poverty, climate change, and growing demand for resources are issues faced across the urban rural continuum, and they all relate to food. With food and agriculture linking the ecosystems, economies, and public health of communities rural and urban, we must plan for food systems on a city region scale in order to meet 21st century challenges and reduce the risk they pose to food and nutrition security.

Common Challenges, Clear Opportunities

Co-authors Thomas Forster, a faculty member at the New School’s Food Studies Program, and Arthur Getz Escudero, a researcher at Cardiff University School of Planning and Geography, highlight innovative research and policy bridges for solutions that address common challenges and opportunities in these areas which have long been considered in isolation. As cities grow, future food supplies must continue to come largely from rural areas. To ensure this relationship remains intact and beneficial for both rural and urban environments alike, City Regions calls for inclusive participation between stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines and across all sectors at the subnational, national and international level. While interested parties have different priorities and entry points, it is crucial that they find common ground.

With a foreword by ICLEI Secretary General Gino Van Begin

“City Regions as Landscapes for People, Food and Nature is a timely response to the demand for a guided tour of the professional and policy entry points to incorporate food security, nutrition, sustainable agriculture and related ecosystem services in urban and regional planning for human communities.”