Handbook on Urban Food Security in the Global South - 9781786431509

The ways in which rapid urbanization of the Global South are transforming food systems and food supply chains, and the food security of urban populations is an often neglected topic. This international group of authors addresses this profound transformation from a variety of different perspectives and disciplinary lenses, providing an important corrective to the dominant view that food insecurity is a rural problem requiring increases in agricultural production. Starting from the premise that food security in urban areas is primarily a challenge of food access, the chapters explore the various economic, social, and governance policies and structures that constrain and inhibit the access of all to food of sufficient quantity and quality. As the Global South continues to urbanize, the challenge of feeding hungry cities will become even more daunting, and this Handbook explains why the existing food system, although undergoing rapid change, is inadequate for this task and cannot meet the challenge without substantial reform. The Handbook as a whole, and the individual chapters, provide comprehensive overviews of relevant themes mixed with empirical, real-world examples for university readership teaching and taking courses on food systems, migration and urbanization, urban policy and planning, geography, agricultural economics, public health, and international development. It will also introduce practitioners to current debates in the field and provide strong support for the renewed, and growing, focus on the food security of urban populations. The Handbook's comprehensive overviews of relevant themes mixed with empirical, real-world examples are ideal for university readership. It will also introduce practitioners to current debates in the field and provide strong support for the renewed, and growing, focus on the food security of urban populations.