Powering transformative practices against food poverty with urban planning

Abstract

Abstract Food is back on the agenda. After the global financial crisis of 2008, food insecurity became rampant even in high‐income countries, and COVID‐19 has only worsened the situation. Action is needed to build emancipatory practices dealing with food insecurity. The cultural and technical legacy of urban planning can be seized and enriched with the principles of the commons and the ethics of care. A case study in Madrid, Spain, provides clues about how to envision a future in which urbanism backs agroecological and right to food movements to design resilient urban food systems. More than 400 free food distribution nodes operate in the city, yet over 14% of the population is food insecure. This study analyzes public, private, and community programs to address food poverty, as well as community gardens, municipal markets, food‐related business incubators, and public centers with potential community kitchens. Urban planning helps broadening horizons of possibilities, activating the collective imagination of new ways to connect needs and—often unnoticed—resources. Such an approach contributes to progress in reducing dependencies from the large industrial food sector. Urban planning provides tools for applying the qualities of agroecological food systems supported by the community to define strategies adapted to each specific context. In mature contexts, it helps transposing the social reorganization into the material space in the neighborhood.