“Engaging diverse actors, this session connected local efforts in Chad and research centers to private sector innovation in urban farming. The result is a set of scalable strategies that cities can adopt for greater food resilience.”
From climate induced shocks to pandemics and geopolitical stressors, understanding the accessibility and deliverability of urban food is central for a holistic preparedness and response approach to addressing the risk of urban food insecurity both pre- and post-disaster. Adopting a multi-hazard angle, this panel of global thought leaders seeks to unpack the complex web of the hitherto under-investigated nexus of Urban Food Resilience and Risk Management.
As urbanization continues to rapidly accelerate, especially in developing and fragile states, the velocity and socioeconomic complexities are laying bare new urban risk models. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has opened up new avenues for including the resilience of local urban food systems in risk modeling (especially in contexts of supply chains and transport disruptions), assessing its relationship to social protection, poverty and nutrition. It demonstrated the transformational potential of public-private partnerships and new urban farming technologies (such as vertical farming) for effective reduction of food insecurity risk.
By drawing from a diverse set of subject matter experts, this panel brings a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding aspects of Disaster Risk Management, linking local governance models to an expanded definition of urban risk. Drawing from cases from Africa to Latin America, citizen engagement and private sector technological advancements, this panel looks at how climate and multi-hazard risks can be more efficiently managed by systematically integrating urban agriculture in urban planning. While rapid onset hydrometeorological and seismic risks can immediately undermine access to food in urban settings, slow onset challenges, such as heat waves and droughts in urban and peri-urban areas demonstrate equally disruptive impacts. The development of urban agriculture has the potential to mitigate both of these scenarios. This innovative approach to Climate risk mitigation through urban food systems development feature prominently in this discussion.
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