ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore urban design in the context of food as a critical social, economic, and cultural factor in urban space. Focusing predominantly on the developed world, we see this as a dynamic interplay, in which food both influences the design of place, and is influenced by it. We have taken what constitutes a food space to be broadly conceived, arguing that food’s interplay with place design encompasses food loci in diverse settlement settings including streetscapes, town squares, food market spaces, restaurants and dining districts, shopping centres, malls and food courts, urban gardens, orchards and allotments, public green spaces, and peri-urban farming of various kinds. We explore both broad theoretical perspectives and specific food-centred design schemes in the context of transformations in urban form and suggest that food-conscious urban design is central to sustainable urban space in future.
