Introduction: On the brink of why and how: sustainable urban food planning grows up

In recent years many books on urban agriculture, urban farming, food planning or food systems have been published (De Zeeuw and Drechsel, 2015; Miazzo and Minkjan, 2013; Roggema and Keeffe, 2014; Viljoen and Bohn, 2014). However, this book Sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Planning, marks a shift in perspective. Many discussions and the majority of the research in the past dealt with food safety and security. This book looks beyond these ‘why’ questions of the food issue, as the questions of ‘how’ to produce enough, healthy, sustainable and acceptable food close to where it is consumed and where it can be experienced, become more and more important.