Sustainable food planning conference

On 9 and 10 October 2009 the first Sustainable Food Planning Conference will be held. This conference is an initiative of the AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning), the ISOMUL (International Studygroup On Multiple Use of Land) and the Rural Sociology Group of Wageningen University.

The sustainable food planning conference is organized to examine the role of food in urban and regional planning. Although political, societal and academic interests in food and the city are rapidly increasing, food largely remains a stranger to the field of urban and regional planning, spatial planning policies and planning studies. Recently the American Planning Association launched its Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning. Inspired by this policy guide, this conference seeks to explore ways in which food can and should be incorporated in planning practices, policies and research and develop strategies for enhancing sustainable food planning in Europe. The character of the conference is primarily agenda-setting by establishing a network of planning practitioners, policymakers and agrifood and planning scholars in Europe and beyond.

Restaurant and meeting centre De Kemphaan (source: http://www.restaurantdekemphaan.nl/content/ons_bedrijf)

The conference will take place at De Kemphaan in the city of Almere in the Netherlands. If you are interested to participate in this conference, please apply by e-mail to corine.diepeveen@wur.nl. Costs for participation are € 100,- (incl. drinks, lunches and diner). The number of participants is limited to 50 persons. For more information have a look at the conference programme below:

Day 1 – Generating ideas, exchanging experiences and comparing perspectives
09.00 – 09.30	Welcome and coffee/tea
09.30 – 09.45	Food and planning: an introduction to the conference	Prof. Kevin Morgan (Professor of Governance & Development, Cardiff University, UK)
09.45 – 10.00	Including food and agriculture in urban planning: the Almere approach	Mr. Henk Mulder (Almere municipality – director urban development and planning)
10.00 – 10.30	An integrated and territorial perspective on food studies, policy and planning	Prof. Han Wiskerke (Chair of Rural Sociology – Wageningen University, NL)
10.30 – 11.00	Coffee/tea break
11.00 – 12.00	Session 1: Agri-food policy issues
11.00 – 11.30	Food and agriculture in Europe’s peri-urban regions	Mrs. Dwarshuis (President of Peri-Urban Regions Platform Europe – PURPLE)
11.30 – 12.00	Feeding the city: practices, challenges and lessons from developing countries	Mr. Henk de Zeeuw (director RUAF foundation)
12.00 – 13.00	Session 2: Urban food planning practices
12.00 – 12.20	The practice of food planning in New York City	Dr. Nevin Cohen (Associate Professor in Urban Studies at the New School for Liberal Arts, New York
12.20 – 12.40	The practice of food planning in New York State	Mr. Bob Lewis (Senior Planner New York State)
12.40 – 13.00	Amsterdam’s food strategy (“Proeftuin Amsterdam)	Mr. Bart Pijnenburg(Programme manager Proeftuin Amsterdam)
13.00 – 14.00	Lunch break
14.00 – 15.30	Session 3: Theoretical perspectives and academic issues
14.00 – 14.30	Reconnecting consumers and producers: dynamics, diversity and potentials of alternative food networks	Prof. Gianluca Brunori (Professor of Agriculture Economics – Pisa University, Italy)
14.30 – 15.00	Urban Food and Public Spaces: Planning for Security and Sustainability	Dr. Roberta Sonnino (Lecturer in Environmental Planning – Cardiff University, UK)
15.00 – 15.30	Food and the city: the links between food, public health and sustainable urban development	Dr. Martin Caraher (Reader in Food & Health Policies, City University London, UK)
15.30 – 16.00	Coffee/tea break
16.00 – 18.00	Excursion to City Farm Almere	Tineke van den Berg (urban farmer)
19.30 – 22.30	Drinks & Diner
Day 2 – Towards an agenda for sustainable food planning
09.00 – 09.30	Welcome and coffee/tea
09.30 – 10.00	Including food in planning studies and planning practices: experiences from the USA	Prof. Jerry Kaufman (Professor Emeritus of Urban and Regional Planning – University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
10.00 – 10.45	Issues, topics, themes for a sustainable food planning agenda (plenary inventory)	Moderated by Prof. Arnold van der Valk (Professor of Land Use Planning – Wageningen University, The Netherlands)
10.45 – 11.15	Coffee/tea break
11.15 – 12.45	Developing the building blocks for a sustainable food planning agenda (parallel working sessions)
12.45 – 14.00	Lunch break
14.00 – 14.45	Plenary presentation of and discussion about results of parallel working sessions	Moderated by Prof. Terry Marsden (Professor of Environmental Policy – Cardiff University, UK)
14.45 – 15.00	Sustainable food planning in Europe: concluding reflection and look ahead	Prof. Kevin Morgan (Professor of Governance & Development, Cardiff University, UK)
15.00	Coffee & tea / end of conference