Based on systems thinking and qualitative research, which we carried out as part of our master’s thesis (HTW Berlin) in collaboration with food4future, we look at the transformative potential of urban food production that goes beyond the realm of food security.
Particularly powerful and resilient structures emerge at the edges of systems. The urban transition lab eating walls challenges the physical and mental separation of social, technological and ecological systems. It bridges the gap by creating an experimental space focused on urban food production. This participatory intervention aims to stimulate a public exchange about food cultivation in the city and citizens’ expectations and needs. The design of this immersive experience explores how co-profits can be created through symbiosis, how to establish closed loops and what it takes to make a paradigm shift towards regenerative action.
The Three Horizons Workshop then moderates a dialogue between actors with different approaches, including politicians, scientists and citizens. This helps to clarify their respective responsibilities and scopes of action to differentiate between incremental and transformative change. In this way, more systemic levels of change are implemented to create resilience rather than maintain the status quo.
