This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. Defining ¿local¿ based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers¿ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Charts and tables.

The integration of food into urban planning is a crucial and emerging topic. Urban planners, alongside the local and regional authorities that have traditionally been less engaged in food-related issues, are now asked to take a central and active part in understanding how food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, marketed, consumed, disposed of and recycled in our cities. While there is a growing body of literature on the topic, the issue of planning cities in such a way they will increase food security and nutrition, not only for the affluent sections of society but primarily for the poor, is much less discussed, and much less informed by practices. This volume, a collaboration between the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at UCL and the Food Agricultural Organisation, aims to fill this gap by putting more than 20 city-based experiences in perspective, including studies from Toronto, New York City, Portland and Providence in North America; Milan in Europe and Cape Town in Africa; Belo Horizonte and Lima in South America; and, in Asia, Bangkok and Tokyo. By studying and comparing cities of different sizes, from both the Global North and South, in developed and developing regions, the contributors collectively argue for the importance and circulation of global knowledge rooted in local food planning practices, programmes and policies.

As people increasingly migrate to urban settings and more than half of the world's population now lives in cities, it is vital to plan and provide for sustainable and resilient food systems which reflect this challenge. This volume presents experience and evidence-based "state of the art" chapters on the key dimensions of urban food challenges and types of intra- and peri-urban agriculture. The book provides urban planners, local policy makers and urban development practitioners with an overview of crucial aspects of urban food systems based on an up to date review of research results and practical experiences in both developed and developing countries. By doing so, the international team of authors provides a balanced textbook for students of the growing number of courses on sustainable agriculture, food and urban studies, as well as a solid basis for well-informed policy making, planning and implementation regarding the development of sustainable, resilient and just urban food systems.

The rapid growth of African cities means they have a great challenge in ensuring an adequate supply of food to satisfy their nutritional needs in terms of quantity, variety and taste, at accessible/affordable prices. Food supply and distribution systems (FSDS), whether formal or informal, are a key element. An efficient FSDS can increase the availability of food to the urban consumer, and at the same time increase the revenues of both traders and producers. However, there are a number of constraints that impede the efficiency of FSDS and these are discussed in the papers in this Bulletin that address the whole issue of food supply and food security. They are addressed towards urban managers and planners together with professionals and researchers concerned with urban food security.

This explorative, primary data-based study provides findings on the first nearly two decades of the emerging supermarket industry in Bangladesh, in particular its capital city Dhaka. The objective is thereby twofold: On the one hand, the study traces the so-far development of supermarkets in Dhaka, and Bangladesh, and depicts current hindering factors to the local supermarket industry’s further development, as well as supermarket managers’ measures to tackle these challenges. On the other hand, the study explores the (potential) implications of emerging supermarkets for other food retailers on-site. To this end, the study’s focus lies on so-called wet markets (Bengali: kacha bazars) as an exemplary “traditional” food retail format. Here, the study strives for the determination of supermarkets’ competitive pressure on kacha bazars in Dhaka, and kacha bazar vendors’ corresponding (proactive) coping strategies. The study is based on theoretical and conceptional reflections on markets and market structures, the fundamentals of retail management and modern food retail, and research findings on supermarkets’ structural impact on food retail markets in other country contexts.