Whether it is from climate change, the energy crisis, or economic downturn, we are more aware than ever that the food system will confront many challenges in the future. The recent pandemic has shown the necessity – as well as the opportunity – to test novel approaches that question the business-as-usual way in which our food system is shaped. This means its resilience must increase, while at the same time its capacity to provide food security for all must be enhanced. The relation between the city and the countryside has also come to the fore, alongside multiple benefits that could potentially arise out of the enhancement of such relations. In this Special Issue, food systems are used as an organizing framework, as they represent the ideal locus to think of urban and rural as two closely interconnected dimensions. Looking at the ecological, social, economic, technical, and institutional components of the food system(s) and their interactions and outcomes, the “boundaries” between rural and urban become blurred. Our focus is on the sustainability-related aspects that relate the various components and outcomes of the food system to their rural-urban context. We invite papers presenting original research on this topic, to contribute to the identification of best practices and potential solutions to present and future challenges.
Keywords: rural-urban relations; food systems; food
security; sustainability; resilience; rural; urban; post-pandemic.