Madrid 2022
ISP-LTT Regenerative urban food planning for eco-social transitions
DATES: 26.6.2022 – 5.7.2022
The programme focused on the potential for improving the sustainability of the local food system: addressing the governance and spatial implications of sustainable production and the cross-relations to nature protection and environmental/landscape quality in urban fringe areas. We worked in international teams composed of students from various countries and staff of Universities and NGO of various countries. Each team had a combination of different disciplines. The IP worked within the framework of participatory action learning and research approach as defined during the first session of the seminar. That means that students and tutors alike took part in the activities and worked together in the teams. Teams ensure that every voice is heard and that they engage together to address the challenges and aim for achieving a transformative action.
The local context is the city of Madrid as it is a member of the Spanish City-Food Network ‘Red de Ciudades por la Agroecología’, and there are several enterprises and social actors related to the local food sector. These vary from allotment gardens, community gardens, CSA, and social and economic enterprises for local food production in the urban fringe and region. These form new chains of food production and innovation in social entrepreneurship and social relationships. Urban food production contributes to social cohesion, local economy, and quality of life.
The city of Madrid signed Milano Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) in October 2015. Different municipal departments dealing with food issues, together with some relevant social and economic stakeholders confirmed a Monitoring Table of the MUFPP in 2016 and the city adopted a Sustainable and Healthy Food Strategy on 1st March 2018. Currently, the city is developing two programs of Productive Neighbourhoods and Metropolitan Forest, in which urban agriculture plays a key role.
The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid works together with the Red de Ciudades por la Agroecología (Network of Local Authorities boosting Agroecology) and other social cooperatives and NGOs such as Germinando (gives support to the monitoring table and the implementation of the Food Strategy) and Madrid Agroecológico (social platform seeking an agroecological transition in the Madrid region, which brings together a wide range of actors from both the rural and the urban worlds). The Observatory for the Guarantee of the Right to Food will provide the perspective of people at risk of food insecurity in the IP.
Important questions for the Intensive Programme are:
- Given that over 90% of food consumed in Madrid comes from outside the region, what are the main challenges of the metropolitan food system? How to intertwin scales, with ongoing strategies promoting agroecology and sustainable food system, from the neighbourhood to the regional one?
- How can agroecology and urban agriculture contribute to sustainable economic development?
- Which (spatial) strategies can be developed (for governance, local entrepreneurs, and agroecological and food movements) in order to achieve social and economic goals?
- Which business models are suitable to serve the needs of the local communities?
- How can agroecological programs be connected to public procurement and food aid programs?
- How can sustainable production be combined with the needs of the inhabitants and the potential for food production?
You can download the Manual with the goals, programme, locations, preparations, deliverables, etcetera here.
Hosting organisation
The workshop is hosted by the Polytechnical University of Madrid, Department of architecture, ETSAM, Avenida Juan Herrera, Nº 4, Madrid, Spain. Participants worked mostly at the university and on some days at the community working space: Espacios communes, c/Lorenzana 2, Madrid
Learning objectives
The participant:
- Is aware of the vulnerability of the urban food system
- Can anticipate future problems and address them by leveraging local resources
- Can identify stakeholders and power structures in a new and unknown context.
- Can use collaborative mapping tools to prefigure alternatives
- Can apply strategic thinking to a weak defined problem, and develop action-oriented proposals
- Can communicate findings and proposals
- Transversal: Collaborative working
Programme
Day 1: Sunday, June 26, 2022: Travel to Madrid, or earlier if you wish
Those who were already here met at: 19.00 Plaza de las Comendadoras (Federalcafe)
Day 2: Monday June 27, 2022 Madrid ETSAM, Avenida Juan Herrera, Nº 4
9.00-13.00 Welcome Presentation of participants Presentation of the workshop aim, programme, planning Presentation of the results from the Living Lab Madrid
13.00- 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 17.30 Master class. Vulnerability of the current urban food system Team building Workshop I: Scenarios
Day 3: Tuesday June, 28, 2022 Madrid
6.00-12.00 Field trip: Mercamadrid, Madrid Km0. Community Garden
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-15.00 Workshop II. Analysis Presentation of the workshop Presentation of the results from the Living Lab of Madrid
Day 4: Wednesday June 29, 2022 Zarzalejo
8.00-18.00 Field trip (Lunch included 13.00 – 14.00) CSA Zarzalejo Local center Communities in Transition Master class. Agroecological movement Master class: Participatory tools, networks and community building Workshop III. Diagnosis
Day 5: Thursday June 30, 2022 Madrid
9.00-13.00 Master class: Urban food strategies Workshop IV. Goals Mercamadrid,
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-16.00 Workshop V. Proposal
16.00-17.00 Presentations
17.00- 18.30 Online course AESOP4FOOD on Monitoring and Evaluation
20.00 Common dinner
Day 6: Friday July 1, 2022 Madrid
9.00-13.00 Visit cooperative supermarket Visit municipal market Master class: Strategic plan for municipal markets and food retail sector
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-17.00 Workshop VI Proposal
Day 7: Saturday July 2, 2022 Madrid
9.00-13.00 Workshop VII (Espacios communes, c/Lorenzana 2, Madrid)
Day 8: Sunday July 3 2022 Madrid
9.00-13.00 Workshop VIII (Espacios communes, c/Lorenzana 2, Madrid)
13.00 -14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 17.30 Workshop VIII
Day 9:Monday July 4, 2022 Madrid
9.00-12.00 Workshop
12.00 – 13.00 Presentation of results
13.00 – 14.30 Picnic
17.00 – 23.00 (Optional) Field trip to a CSA for a collaborative working session at the farm)