This paper posits the urban food environment as an extremely useful policy-making framework for developing actions to improve nutrition, as it is the point at which people and food interact. It describes the nutritional challenges of urban areas and how urban food environments influence nutrition through the affordability, physical access to, convenience and desirability of healthy foods.
The world is urbanising rapidly, and malnutrition in urban areas (including both undernutrition and overweight/obesity) is an increasing problem. City policymakers in all countries are well placed to address urban malnutrition by virtue of their access to a wide variety of policy-level entry-points to food access and physical activity.
The position paper "Achieving Urban Food and Nutrition Security with the New Urban Agenda", makes recommendations to the Draft New Urban Agenda, emphasising the importance of creating good urban food policies and the key role cities play in this.
Making Markets Work (MMW) is a joint programme between GAIN and six leading development agencies which aims to catalyse the power of markets and the private sector to make nutritious and safe foods more available, affordable and desirable. The programme charts new models, approaches and concepts to guide governments, investors and business to equip and shape markets to tackle malnutrition.
The "Menu of actions to shape urban food environments for improved nutrition" has been developed by GAIN, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) Secretariat and the RUAF Foundation as a reference document that seeks to meet this need. It contains a large number of examples of policies and programmes, from countries in every region and in all income bands, to inspire and encourage other cities to initiate actions.
Urban governance for nutrition is the process of making and implementing decisions that shape sustainable food systems to deliver better nutrition for people in cities. The Framework on Urban Governance for Nutrition and the guide for implementation provide guidance on how city governments and stakeholders can determine appropriate actions to address urban nutrition priorities.
Over half of the world’s population live in cities. By 2050, it is expected that almost 7 out of 10 people will reside in cities, with 90% of this growth occurring in Africa and Asia. Urbanisation is linked to increasing rates of overweight and obesity, yet undernutrition is also prevalent in cities. These areas are confronted by an increasingly complex challenge to address malnutrition in all its forms.
‘Implementation research in nutrition’ is an emerging area of study aimed at building evidence‐based knowledge and sound theory to design and implement programs that will effectively deliver nutrition interventions. This paper describes some of the basic features of ethnography and illustrates its applications in components of the implementation process.
Business is both part of the problem and the solution to the current food systems challenges. It is critical that we all learn more about this dual impact and that we are able to track how it evolves. By increasing the effectiveness of tracking we will be better positioned to ask and assist businesses to be agents for positive change.
This document makes the case for cities to increase their focus on policies and practices that improve the consumption of safe and nutritious food. Urbanisation contributes to shifts in lifestyle, consumption patterns and economic activities, which may lead to adverse outcomes in poor diet and nutrition.
