Abstract
The city region foodscape is a relational space of spatially proximate as well as more distant relations. The current understanding of city region foodscapes will be enhanced by more analyses of what is happening in the African and Asian cities where rapid population growth and urbanization, with all its challenges and opportunities, is predominantly taking place. This paper explores the city foodscape of one such city, the rapidly growing Dar es Salaam with over 4.5 million inhabitants. By following some important foods for eaters in the city, this paper draws a picture of the changing shape and nature of Dar es Salaam’s foodscape and draws out lessons for debates on city region food systems and urban food planning. It is found that key staple foods are coming from the rural hinterland through a food system that is not part of or modeled on the globally dominant corporate food system and as such represents a working alternative. This food system neither fits within administrative boundaries nor relies primarily on local production. We argue that more academic and policy attention needs to be given to understanding and reinforcing such middle-ground, neither local nor global, food systems that are delivering at city feeding scale.
Highlights
In September 2015, we were participating in a working group on “Conceptualising and Assessing City Region Food Systems” as part of the “Agriculture in an Urbanizing Society” conference taking place in Rome [1]
The first author of this article presented on the maize supply to Dar es Salaam showing how maize, the most important staple food in Tanzania, came to the city through a foodscape that had little if any regard for administrative boundaries or policies [2]
This paper will focus on the findings related to the core staple foods of rice, potatoes and maize that are a big part of people’s diets and the supply of which involves geographically extended food systems that are of interest in exploring the wider city region foodscape
Summary
In September 2015, we were participating in a working group on “Conceptualising and Assessing City Region Food Systems” as part of the “Agriculture in an Urbanizing Society” conference taking place in Rome [1]. One presenter focused on the possibility of expanding the Amsterdam city boundary in order that all the food required for the city could be produced within that boundary. Another presentation was on the food and agriculture policies and practices of six Mediterranean city administrations and a third was an analysis of the practices in two community gardens, one in Berlin and one in Amsterdam. The first author of this article presented on the maize supply to Dar es Salaam showing how maize, the most important staple food in Tanzania, came to the city through a foodscape that had little if any regard for administrative boundaries or policies [2]. There were clearly two very different ways of conceptualizing, studying and planning around city region food systems and a debate worthy of further attention
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