Abstract
In 2007 and 2008, Bangladesh was subject to a food crisis — the outcome of multiple causes — which had a severe impact on the urban poor of the country's capital. Dhaka's food supplies were repeatedly disconnected due to floods and cyclones, yet there was always enough food in the megacity thanks to wholesale traders' diverse and flexible supply networks. Despite the interim government's eviction drives aimed at slum dwellers and street vendors, the food hawkers still managed to distribute prepared food throughout the city. And despite rapidly rising food prices, most of the urban poor found ways to endure the crisis. In this article, we look at the people who made Dhaka's food system resilient enough to avoid catastro phe. We discuss three relevant actor groups food traders in wholesale markets, street food vendors, and poor consumers — and investigate the roles they play in keeping the city fed, and how they act in the light of crises. Neither these actors nor their contributions to urban food security are acknowledged by the state, nor are they substantially supported. Significant potentials for a resilient urban food system thus remain unpromoted and even blocked. Resilience is being refused.
Highlights
We argue that the present neoliberal regime contributes significantly to reshaping megacities and urban food systems alike
All of these trends can be witnessed in Dhaka, where more than one third of the population are living in slums and where informal labor accounts for two thirds of all employment, in the food system (Ghafur 2000; WORLD BANK 2007; Hackenbroch et al 2008; Etzold et al 2009; Maligalig et al 2009)
We argue that the disregard of the interests of the urban poor and the displacement of informal economies on the part of the state increase the existing socio-economic disparities, and leave significant potentials for creating a more resilient urban food system unused
Summary
In 2007 and 2008, a rapid rise in food prices pushed hundreds of millions of people around the globe into hunger and poverty; the urban poor were affected (Cohen and Garrett 2010; Ruel et al 2010; FAO 2011). The “rice nation” of Bangladesh was sensitive to the global food price hike of 2007/2008 (WORLD BANK 2010; FAO 2011) This economic crisis most severely affected the country’s urban poor, because they primarily rely on their cash income for accessing food, and face difficulties if prices rise rapidly while their. Most visible among the interim government’s actions were large-scale slum clearance drives and evictions of informal street markets, which again affected the livelihoods of the urban poor severely (IGS 2008; Siddiqui et al 2010) This multidimensional crisis had devastating effects in the country’s capital, the megacity of Dhaka. All three case studies provide evidence of the capacities of the people of Dhaka to navigate crises They point to the fact that the contributions of these actors to urban food security are not acknowledged by the state; nor are their efforts substantially supported.
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