How might food be produced and sourced in urban areas and why is this not to be missed by innovative companies?
Food SystemiCity’s futures map developed by Aalto University enlightens new opportunities not only in the urban food production and distribution sector but for the built environment and real estate. Actors can take up new roles as urbanization brings focus of local food solutions to cities.
So, if you are willing to imagine new futures for a vacant or low-occupancy space you have*, or if you have a development project idea but are missing the context – we got you.
The futures map is an opening to the co-creation of new businesses across fields. It presents five images of futures, along with a look at the changing landscape and ways to participate. With a list of urban solutions for localizing food systems and identified places that have the best potential to host these concepts, you can imagine further futures.
As the most feasible ideas require a range of expertise, the map encourages co-creation and is also based on collaboration between the project partners and stakeholders as well as on scientific literature. In the autumn 2023 we hosted a fruitful workshop where 30 participants, representing the built environment and the urban food sector, were asked to imagine the year 2050 and to think of food system solutions for housing, office, retail, and warehouse spaces. The concepts created in the workshop, as well as their direct and indirect impacts, were further assessed in another workshop with the project’s experts to generate the images of futures.
The future can start today – just let our map guide you and join the Food SystemiCity journey!
*in the Uusimaa region where the project is running
Contact the programme leader Laura Forsman to discuss more: laura.forsman@helsinki.fi