Aquaponic cultivation, multifunctional roof gardens, food waste, circular economy, vertical cultivation... The questions surrounding sustainable food systems of the future are many and often linked to urban environments. In the spring of 2019, SLU Urban Futures and SLU Future Food will therefore start a joint project called 'Food and Cities' (Mat och Stad).
SLU's four future platforms are tasked with identifying issues of high relevance for both society and research through interdisciplinary and collaborative research. In some cases, these issues arise within the respective platform's thematic focus, while in other cases it is in the borderland between the platforms that exciting and relevant issues, opportunities and challenges arise. One such area is "food and city".
The overall aim of the project is to create an interdisciplinary and faculty-transcending network in the area of "food and city" at SLU. The network is commissioned to identify interdisciplinary knowledge gaps and research questions in the field. From the platforms' perspective, the project has another purpose: to test a structure and a working method that we believe can promote the development of multi- and interdisciplinary encounters and collaborations.
- We believe that a network-based approach has great advantages when it comes to openly and curiously exploring such a large and multifaceted area as "food and city", says Josefin Wangel, vice programme director for SLU Urban Futures. At the same time, we know that a network needs a "spider" to be built and activated, which is why we are now looking for a coordinator.
The initiative for the project came from the one-day conference Food and Cities in Malmö last September, when the platforms SLU Urban Futures and SLU Future Food were invited to hold a lecture together. During the preparatory work, Nina Vogel, coordinator at SLU Urban Futures, and Annsofie Wahlström, program director at SLU Future Food, became aware of the extensive number of questions and challenges that exist in the crossings of the two platforms.
Coordinator wanted
SLU Urban Futures and SLU Future Food are looking for a coordinator who can run and develop the project Food and Cities.
More information about the vacancy and how to apply.
