Carolyn Steel, foto: Henk Augustijn
Introduction Foodprint: 'The Knight's Move' by Carolyn Steel
Reading about 'Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives'
Wednesday, 25 March, 2009, 20:30 hrs
Location: Museum of Communication
Language: English
"Man and corn - it all comes back to that. Cultivation and civilization, city and country, paradise and hell, food has always shaped our lives, and it always will. Our legacy to those who inherit the earth will be determined by how we eat now - their future lies in our knives and forks and fingers."
(Carolyn Steel, Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives, 2008)
Stroom Den Haag presents the two-year program "Foodprint: Food for the City" starting this summer. Foodprint focuses on the influence of food on the culture, structure, and functioning of cities, particularly The Hague. Hungry City, the book by Carolyn Steel, is one of the sources of inspiration for the program.
Carolyn Steel offers an exceptionally unique perspective on cities as an architect: she views them from the standpoint of food. She argues that the size, shape, and functioning of cities as we know them today have been, and continue to be, determined by developments in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. In her words: "food shapes the city." The abundant availability of (cheap) food in cities seems self-evident, but Steel warns that this could change in the near future. Therefore, it is important for architects and urban planners to also consider food provision in their city designs.
As food production moves closer to urban residents, the awareness of the value of food will be strengthened. It can also make a crucial contribution to a healthy, green, livable, and sustainable city. While "Know-what-you-eat" guru Michael Pollan connects food awareness with a certain nostalgic longing for small-scale practices, Carolyn Steel links visionary ideas and a plea for the urgency of urban food production directly with high-tech and urban living.
The Knight's Move
Carolyn Steel's lecture is part of the series The Knight's Move featuring international speakers who distinguish themselves through unusual, enlightening, and inspiring views on the city, urbanity, the public domain, and community building.
This lecture series is made possible in part by the Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur.