For Hunger-Proof Cities: Sustainable Urban Food Systems

The 20th century witnessed a massive growth in urban populations. In 1990, one-third of the world's people lived in cities of one million or more. As a result, hunger and malnutrition are on the increase worldwide, as the global food system fails to satisfy the growing demand of the urban consumer.

For Hunger-Proof Cities is the first book to fully examine food security from an urban perspective. It examines existing local food systems and ways to improve the availability and accessibility of food for city dwellers. It looks at methods to improve community-supported agriculture and cooperation between urban and rural populations. It explores what existing marketing and distribution structures can do to improve accessibility and what the emerging forms of food-distribution systems are, and how they can contribute to alleviating hunger in the cities. Finally, the book discusses the underlying structures that create poverty and inequality and examines the role of emergency food systems, such as food banks. A French version will be available in 1999.

Mustafa Koc is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Canada

Rod MacRae is Director of the Toronto Food Policy Council.

Luc J. A. Mougeot is Senior Program Specialist with IDRC's Special Initiatives Division and is author of Agropolis (2005).

Jennifer Welsh is Professor and Director of the School of Nutrition, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Canada.