The Role of Spatialisation and Spatial Planning in Improving Food Systems: Insights from the Fast-Growing City of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Cities are growing rapidly. It takes a chain of activities to get food from farms to cities. This food system is largely driven by autonomous market development, seizing opportunities favourable to a stakeholder but unfavourable to society at large. Spatial planning is crucial along the chain of food system activities to improve food system outcomes, resilience, and limit negative trade-offs. To include the food system in spatial planning, it must first be mapped (i.e., spatialisation) to understand the functions. These maps inform the spatial planning process, which in turn influences spatial configuration of activities. This paper explores the role of spatialisation and spatial planning in the food system of the fast-growing Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA) using three different approaches: urban footprint, mapping, and semi-structured interviews. Stakeholders are unaware of spatial aspects that are present in DMA’s food system and therefore do not consider it while developing spatial plans. The analysis in this article, based on the Urban Food Footprint analysis, food system spatialisation, and interviews shows that spatial planning informed by descriptive spatial information can play an important role in guiding the transformation to a more robust, resilient, and inclusive food system.