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KU Leuven University

Urban Food Systems

KU Leuven University via edX

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Overview

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Food is crucial to life. However, due to extreme climate change and rapidly rising populations, secure food access is not always guaranteed.

This course will teach you about food systems and their core concepts, in relation to urban growth and land-use patterns.

Key topics include spatial, social and economic accessibility, food choice and foodsheds. Additionally, these concepts are linked to city governance dynamics to help you understand stakeholder involvement and urban food policy making.

Putting theory to practice, these concepts will be connected to African city case studies, giving you a deep understanding of what shapes food systems in African cities.

Syllabus

Week 1: Basic Urban Food System Concepts
 Introduction to basic urban food system concepts, and the context of urban growth and land-configurations.

Week 2: From Farm to Fork
 Understanding food value chains, including urbanization impacts, vulnerabilities and opportunities.

Week 3: Food Accessibility
 Considering the different dimension of food accessibility through spatial, social, economic accessibility and foodsheds.

Week 4: Food Choice
 Understanding dietary choices in relation to the double burden of malnutrition, food security and dietary diversity.

Week 5: Urban Food Governance
 Understanding and analyzing urban food governance, considering the stakeholder map and key governance activities, next to (peri)urban agriculture, food retail, food safety and infrastructure.

Taught by

Lisa-Marie Hemerijckx, Julian May, Shuaib Lwasa, Anton Van Rompaey, Michelle Eichinger and Rubia Korstanje

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Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 2 Class Central reviews

4.3 rating at edX based on 22 ratings

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  • Anonymous
    Interesting introduction to food systems. Well illustrated, great cartography and based on original research.
  • Anonymous
    An interesting MOOC by KU Leuven, beautifully illustrated. The teaching materials are based on recent publications in the field of urban studies and food systems.
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