Dates:29 October 2010 - 30 October 2010

Location:University of Brighton, Grand Parade

The University of Brighton hosted the AESOP 2nd European Sustainable Food Planning Conference on 29 and 30 October 2010.

This followed the agenda-setting AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning) 1st European Sustainable Food Planning Conference held in Almere (Netherlands) during October 2009.

The Brighton Conference built on the conclusions of the Almere conference and provided a forum for the dissemination and critical evaluation of research and practice within this rapidly developing field. Participants were invited from within Europe and beyond. Dialogues were facilitated between practitioners and academics across disciplines and themes including, policy, agrifood, public health planning, architecture and landscape.

Keynote Speakers

Professor June Komisar, Ryerson University, Toronto
Architect, member of the Toronto Food Policy Council and a co-curator for the exhibit 'Carrot City: Designing for Urban Agriculture'.

Dr Joe Nasr
Co-coordinator, MetroAg – North American Alliance for Urban Agriculture; and Associate, Centre for Studies in Food Security, Ryerson University, Toronto.

Professor Tim Lang
Professor of Food Policy at City University, London.

Carolyn Steel
Architect, columnist, lecturer and author of Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives.

Conference documentation

Venue address:

AESOP 2nd European Sustainable Food Planning Conference
University of Brighton
Grand Parade Building (School of Art)
Grand Parade
Brighton
BN2 OJY

Download the conference programme.

Introduction

Planning for sustainable food production and consumption is an increasingly important issue for planners, policymakers, designers, farmers, suppliers, activists, business and scientists alike.

In the wider contexts of global climate change, a world population of 9 billion and growing, competing food production systems and diet-related public health concerns, are there new paradigms for urban and rural planning capable of supporting sustainable and equitable food systems? This conference will promote cross disciplinary discussions between active researchers and practitioners in response to this question, and related issues articulated during the first European Sustainable Food Planning Conference held in 2009 in Almere. Click here to download a report from the Almere conference.

Working at a range of scales and with a variety of practical and theoretical models, we will review and elaborate definitions of sustainable food systems, and begin to define ways of achieving them. To this end, four different themes have been defined as entry-points into the discussion of ‘sustainable food planning’. These are (1) Urban Agriculture, (2) Integrating Health, Environment and Society, (3) Food in Urban Design and Planning and (4) Urban Food Governance.

Conference themes will enable an articulation of the manifold problems associated with, and possible solutions for, food provision in urbanising societies in developed and developing countries.

Conference format

The conference followed on from a successful format used in Almere, a short, intense event allowing ample time for questions and discussion. The conference was conducted in English.

Peer reviewed proceedings including context setting essays were published following the conference by Wageningen Academic Publishers.

Conference themes and abstracts

• Urban agriculture
  Convenors: Prof. Dr Han Wiskerke and Jan-Willem van der Schans (Rural Sociology Group - Wageningen University)
  Click here to download the full description for Urban agriculture.

• Integrating health, environment and society
  Convenors: Assoc Prof. Dr Bettina Bock (Rural Sociology Group - Wageningen University) and Martin Caraher (Professor of Food and Health Policy - City University, London)
  Click here to download the full description for Integrating health, environment and society.

• Food in urban and regional planning and design
  Convenors: Prof. Dr Arnold van der Valk (Land Use Planning Chair - Wageningen University); Andre Viljoen (Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Design - University of Brighton); Katrin Bohn (Bohn & Viljoen Architects).
  Click here to download the full description for Food in urban and regional planning and design.

• Urban food governance
  Convenors: Prof. Dr Kevin Morgan (Professor of Governance and Development – City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University) and Dr ing. Petra Derkzen  (Assistant Professor, Rural Sociology Group Wageningen University)
  Click here to download the full description for Urban food governance.

Conference timetable

End March 2010: E mail & web notification of conference and call for abstracts
End May 2010: Submission deadline for abstracts
Mid-June 2010: Confirmation of acceptance to authors
Mid-August 2010: Draft Papers submitted
End September 2010: Reviewers comments returned
29 October 2010: Final papers (circa 8-10 pages) delivered to conference
29 and 30 October: 2010 Conference

Publication of peer reviewed proceedings by Wageningen Academic Publishers – post conference.

Conference Planning Committee

• Professor Dr Kevin Morgan, Professor of Governance and Development – City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University (AESOP)
• Professor Dr ir J.S.C. Wiskerke, Chair and Professor of Rural Sociology, Wageningen University
• Professor Arnold van der Valk, Land Use Planning Group, Wageningen University (AESOP)
• Andre Viljoen, School of Architecture & Design, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton
• Katrin Bohn, Bohn & Viljoen Architects
• Assisted by Mikey Tomkins, PhD candidate, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton

Download a PDF version of the AESOP 2nd European Sustainable Food Planning Conference call for abstracts.