Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change - weADAPT

As discussed above, protection of the prime farmland on the peri-urban fringes ofMelbourne and the Gold Coast was seen as essential by many if these cities are tohave a sustainable and resilient food system:[this land] can guarantee a permanent food supply to Melbourne. The soil is among thebest in the state, which is why you can crop on it three-four times a year. There’s theexisting investment in infrastructure, in recycled water. This land is a strategiceconomic resource for the future, akin to mining. And there’s the primary value of theproduct itself, but there’s a major opportunity for value-adding – what about canneries?What about food technology? [Senior local government manager]Integrated planning frameworks which address the issues raised above and protectperi-urban farmland were also mentioned:A resilient food system also means looking at retail and food service, so theoutlets for food are accessible to people, are in the right locations, that they areaffordable and provide a good mix of healthy options. It also means including thefood service industry, which means tackling the whole question of fast foodoutlets [Manager, non-government organisation].In terms of moving to a more resilient and sustainable food system, the issue of shiftingnorms was an emerging theme. This was coupled with the belief that the greatervisibility of food growing – the vision of an ‘eco-city’ with an abundance of food growingin all the ‘spaces in-between’, as in Havana, could in turn be a means of creating aviable future for local farmers growing for urban markets, and of enhancing localeconomic diversity:You think of people from all different walks of life, being much more connected tofood; there would be a higher demand on your core healthy foods, if you’resurrounded by fruit and veg – it would be more common, more visible. Creatingthat connection, from food back to people’s lives, seeing plants grow up aroundus – it would create interest, and demand for healthy foods. And the multiculturaldimension – the duopoly don’t offer that much variety, the urban environment canoffer more diverse, culturally-attuned ingredients [Manager, non-governmentorganisation].Urban agriculture was seen by many interviewees as having a key role to play inbuilding greater levels of urban resilience in general, and of resilience to climatechange in particular. A common view is that the re-localisation of food systems whichurban agriculture embodies will be an important element of adaptation, together with agreater sense of collective responsibility for the design of climate-ready urban foodsystems:Small and diverse will be the way to go. Food needs to be close to people, theywill notice its needs and respond to it. They will understand the necessaryadaptations that might be required, such as additional shade. There needs to begreater flexibility, greater understanding of local resources, and the taking ofdecisions collectively [Urban gardener and local food advocate].Food grown locally won’t suffer the impacts of peak oil and climate change[Urban food advocate].Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change 45