Relevant Initiatives

Behavioural change towards climate-smart agriculture

BEATLES aspires to identify the individual, systemic and policy lock-ins and levers that influence entire food systems behavioural change and to develop transformation pathways of change to accelerate the systemic and systematic transition to climate-smart agriculture and smart farming technologies, fully aligned with the ambitions of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, and the new CAP at regional and EU levels

Co-designing food sharing innovation for resilience

In a world experiencing continuous and unexpected changes, urban and peri-urban (UPU) food systems are replete with inequities and inequalities that make them fragile and vulnerable to shocks. An urgent transition towards more just and sustainable food systems is required.

Many FSIs (Food Sharing Initiatives) already contribute towards this transition yet their activities are often hampered by complex, fragmented food governance, uncertain finance, and insecure tenure.

Through the Food Sharing Compass CULTIVATE addresses the problem, helping cities navigate towards resilient and sustainable food sharing. The project identifies drivers and implementation gaps, and challenges existing theories and practices which currently constrain food sharing.

Distinctive implementation steps structure the project, each being indispensable to deliver on the objectives. The project engages the Cultivators (FSIs, policy makers, food supply actors, researchers, and citizens) throughout all the phases.

Pathways towards a fair, inclusive and innovative Data Economy for sustainable food systems

Data4Food2030 aims to improve the data economy for food systems by expanding its definition, mapping its development, performance and impact to create new insights and opportunities.

EU-funded project exploring sustainable urban food innovation for green, resilient and inclusive cities

The systemic use of urban landscapes for food production is a major step towards more sustainable, liveable and healthier cities. A multitude of initiatives around the World, however fragmented, are prospering, forming a global movement of Edible Cities. Their products, activities and services – the Edible City Solutions (ECS) – empower local communities to overcome social problems by their inclusive and participatory dynamics and to create new green businesses and jobs, and thereby generating local economic growth and fostering social cohesion.

EdiCitNet will leverage the substantial benefits that ECS effect today at local level and catalyse their replication EU- and world-wide by launching a fully open and participatory network of cities, empowering their inhabitants by a common methodology:

• to systematically explore the wealth and diversity of existing ECS,
• to adapt, plan and implement successfully proven ECS in their specific urban context.

Improving the design of nature-based solutions to manage stormwater (NBSsw) can play a pivotal role in climate adaptation, resilience of urban vegetation, and enhanced social benefits in cities. The GreenStorm project is set to assess, based on coupled monitoring/modelling, how NBSsw structures perform in a wide range of European climates, as well as in climate extremes such as high intensity rainfall and drought. A real case study in Copenhagen will illustrate NBSsw implementation in a communityengaged approach. To identify drivers for NBSsw upscaling, the project will also rely on feedback from Paris, Athens, Genoa and Östersund. The five partner countries will explore the potential for widespread implementation of NBSsw at urban catchment scale and model its benefits.

Scaling Urban Regenerative Food Systems In Transition

One of the key challenges for sustainable urban food systems is to shorten the food supply chain between food producers and consumers. Sustainable food networks (SFNs) attempt to achieve this but struggle to scale up due to their often isolated and marginal position. The SURFIT project will bring together SFNs, local policy makers and a multidisciplinary group of researchers from four medium-sized cities (Trento, Krakow, Lund and Maastricht) to explore the scaling up of urban regenerative food networks. Drawing on the research findings of the Urban Food Labs, the project will provide design principles to reflexively guide the development and scaling up of SFNs.

In urban areas across Europe, unequal access to nature-based solutions (NbS) is a challenge for urban planning. The NATURO project will explore how mosaic governance has the potential to repurpose existing urban NbS in Micro Urban Living Labs and improve the quality of life of marginalised groups. Urban Living Labs are small-scale, local, codevelopment interventions. NATURO aims to develop a strategic framework for capacity building and stakeholder empowerment. Building on three research projects, NATURO will address the need for political, financial and public support for NbS and make access to NbS more inclusive