Two new guides delve into the secrets of the edible city and a sustainable food system. Empowering the Edible City is aimed especially at developers and decision-makers. The guide offers experiments, analyses, and recommendations for promoting a future-proof food system and the edible city.
The core of the publication Empowering the Edible City is a vision of an edible city, where urban areas are developed as part of more sustainable, local, and unique food systems. The publication emphasizes the strategic role of municipalities and cities as drivers of this transformation. Building a sustainable food system cannot be outsourced to the countryside and primary production; instead, the input of the business community and urban developers is needed to implement this change.
Empowering the Edible City presents the experiments and lessons learned from the Urban&Local project, which was co-funded by the European Union. The guide provides concrete methods for promoting local and sustainable food chains. One of the tools, for example, is the dynamic purchasing system (DPS), which allows the public sector to flexibly purchase products from smaller local operators as well, thus using procurement as a strategic lever. Additionally, the guide discusses, among other things, the significance of new indoor farming technologies, agroecological local production, nutrient cycling, and supporting food tourism and business clusters.
The guide brings together the project’s practical experiments, such as growing mushrooms at Restaurant Perho using biowaste, new types of food-driven market events, and the tested potential of urban farming in promoting carbon neutrality. It also includes lessons learned from international study trips, including those to Denmark, Singapore, and Birmingham.
All organizations and project experts from the Urban&Local consortium have participated in writing the guide.
Check out the publication and grab the lessons that benefit you!
Read more about the guide aimed at entrepreneurs.
Urban&Local – the future sustainable food ecosystem project developed innovative solutions, operating models, products, and services for the local food and restaurant sectors, and created the framework for collaboration and sustainable business in the field. The project was coordinated by Forum Virium Helsinki, and the project partners were Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Perho Culinary, Tourism and Business College, and the City of Vantaa. The project received its funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
