14th Weihenstephan Symposium: Saving the world - Cultivating the city

How food production in the city contributes to a sustainable future

21 & 22 October, 2021 [Hybrid Event]

The industrialization of our global food system and growing urbanization not only exacerbate the effects of climate change and accelerate the loss of biodiversity, but also significantly cause the spatial and mental decoupling of food production and consumption.

Against the backdrop of the associated socio-ecological challenges, a "renaissance" of various forms of urban agriculture can be observed worldwide over the last decade, accompanied by the emergence of new multifunctional productive ecosystems in urban spaces. Especially in the Global North, the manifold forms and different dimensions of urban agriculture increasingly show potentials how negative effects along the food value chain can be reduced and how ecological, economic and social added values can be created.

The 14th Weihenstephan Symposium therefore revolved around a provocative question:

"Urban agriculture - A trend phenomenon or transformative element for the development of resilient cities and food systems?"

To explore this controversial question, the professorship for Urban Productive Ecosystems at Technical University of Munich invited practitioners from science, business, politics and civil society to debate their expertise and experience in the form of keynote speeches and subsequent discussions. Different forms and aspects of urban production - their limits and potentials- were critically examined and their practical potential discussed from ecological, social and economic points of view.

Please find the program HERE.

If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Monika Egerer.