Great food streets: planning and design for urban magnetism in post-agricultural cities

Abstract

Technological developments for engineering chicken breast in petri-dishes or creating a goo-type substance that contains all the nutrients the human body needs signifies the deepest separation between people, place, and food systems that has ever existed in human history. Despite the benefits of the modern food system, many communities have forgotten about planning and designing for food systems in the built environment. Where once food dominated how cities were located and planned (Steel in Hungry city: how food shapes our lives, Random House, London, UK, 2010), production systems have since become more centralized, often in distant lands, and the experience behind food becomes detached, invisible, and simply another convenience of modern life. As food has become more of an afterthought than an organizing principal of life and cities, planners and designers have become critical to creating a thriving urban environment and reconnecting people to food and place. Great streets have been an urban design subject for decades (Jacobs in Great streets, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, MA, 1993), however, few have focused on how food systems can be a core program and design driver for streets. Great food streets can create a sense of place, be an economic opportunity, and contribute to the overall health and happiness of people living in cities. Looking at street design through a food systems lens offers new opportunities for making food growing, distribution, buying/selling, celebrating, educating, and managing waste more visible. The magnetism, or level of attraction, created by using a food lens to plan and design streets, draws many different kinds of people to the same place for different reasons. The result is a lively and vibrant street that provides a range of activities and services for diverse needs and interests the community. This article focuses on how the planning, design, and programing of the built environment, specifically streets, can reflect and create an inclusive and sustainable food system. This article will further define food systems and urban magnetism, discuss why great food streets are needed including the public health imperative for great food streets, provide observations around the modern food systems’ impact on street design, present characteristics of great food streets, and present types and examples of food streets. Examples strive to illustrate planning and design concepts appropriate for large and small communities as well as warm and cold weather places.