Mon, March 21, 2016 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM LIU INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL ISSUES. Today we live in an urban world, with more city dwellers than rural inhabitants. By 2050, 70 per cent of the world population is expected to live in cities, with the majority of this urban growth taking place in the Global South. According to projections, by 2030, 80 per cent of urban areas are expected to be located in the developing world, housing a population of around 5 billion, many of whom will be living in poverty.
This scenario poses multiple challenges and opens the debate on how to create more humane and sustainable cities designed and planned for the welfare and development of its citizens. The talk centers its attention on one of these challenges: Food and Nutrition for urban populations.
Drawing from the lessons learned through the “Towards the Human City” project, the talk presents examples of local grass-roots initiatives that are creatively using urban agriculture to improve access to healthy food in emerging cities from countries such as Brasil, Colombia and Indonesia.
Bio: Maria Alejandra Pineda-Escobar is a Colombian consultant and researcher in inclusive business and CSR in emerging and developing countries, working with the Centre of Partnerships for Development (CAD). Maria is also Regional Coordinator for the Towards the Human City Project and Associate Professor at Politecnico Grancolombiano University, where she lectures on sustainability, globalization and competitiveness in business. Member of the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) Experts Network, and of the National Committee of Inclusive Business of Colombia (CONNIC). She has authored a couple of opinion pieces, papers and book chapters on CSR and sustainability at the BoP, including her latest participation as one of the contributors in the book “Base of the Pyramid 3.0 Sustainable Development through Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. Professional in International Business holds Masters degrees in Public Policy and Human Development (The Netherlands) and in Sustainability and CSR (Spain).
This talk is part of UBC's Future of Food global dialogue series and is hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and the Liu Institute for Global Issues.