The Food Urbanism Initiative (FUI) aims to examine the overall impact of food on urban design and to study the potential of new architectural and landscape strategies for the integration of food production, processing, distribution and consumption in the contemporary Swiss city.
Prime farmland surrounding the planet’s urban areas is being consumed by low density peri-urban development as the majority of the world’s population moves to the city. At the same time, the need for food to feed the urban population increases. In order to maintain the quality of life in our future cities, secure urban food systems, and protect the broader global environment, the relationship between food and the city must be drastically re-envisioned.
The Food Urbanism Initiative examines the existing fabric of the Swiss city in terms of its potential for incorporating urban agricultural initiatives so to develop design strategies at multiple scales (building, neighborhood and city) and policies for future urban development that integrate both city life and food production cycles into a more harmonious coexistence that is socially, economically, and environmentally responsible.