Hacking the Foodscape: Digital Communication in the Co-design of Sustainable and Inclusive Food Environments

Abstract

Supplying healthy, eco-friendly, and affordable food is becoming a priority of governments all over the world as the unsustainability of the industrial food system is realised. At the same time planners, technology companies, and municipal authorities have driven the concept of the “smart” and “resilient” city which has digital communications infrastructure embedded across all functions to ensure sustainable economic development, high standards of living for residents, and efficient resource management. In relation to food, much of this infrastructure to date has focused on the enhancement of procurement strategies and consumption rather than engaging eaters in the co-design of local food environments or “foodscapes”—the places we buy, prepare, talk, share, or glean meaning from food. This chapter explores the potential for digital technologies to enable the participation of all residents, including the food insecure, in co-designing more sustainable and inclusive foodscapes for their communities and therefore be part of broader systems transformation.