Browsing by Subject "African Centre for Cities"

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    What does it take to feed a city? Understanding the urban food system
    (2014-08-22) Pirie, Gordon; Battersby, Jane; Haysom, Gareth
    Coordinated by Professor Gordon Pirie, Deputy Director, African Centre for Cities, UCT; lecturers associated with Food Security and Ways of Knowing projects hosted by the Africa Centre for Cities, this resource studies urban food systems. Food is one of the essentials of life and yet relatively little attention is paid to how it reaches us in our cities. Although there has always been enough food to feed everyone in Cape Town, up to eighty percent of residents in low income areas struggle to access adequately nutritious and affordable food. In urban centres worldwide, areas of food scarcity and oversupply exist in close proximity. The complexity of food production, distribution, access, control and consumption are critical development challenges for all cities – no less for Cape Town. This three-lecture course will investigate the workings of the Cape Town food system and will argue that food is an essential lens through which to view urban sustainability and issues of justice. LECTURE TITLES: 1. Philippi horticultural area: food flows and politics (Dr Jane Battersby) 2. Food and urban sustainability (Gareth Haysom) 3. The urban food policy gap (Dr Jane Battersby) This resource is useful for anyone interested in food security issues in an urban environment. Recommended reading: Joubert, L. 2012. The Hungry Season. South Africa: Pan MacMillan. Lemonick, M.D. Top 10 Myths about Sustainability in Scientific American. March 2009, 19, pps. 40–45.