Food shapes our cities both physically, socially, and economically, and by changing these factors we can create a close to perfect community, a Sitopia.
wHAT IS A SITOPIA?
Many know of the word "Utopia", used since the time of Plato, to describe a perfect but impossibly unattainable city. The word literally means 'good place', or 'no place'.
"Sitopia" was created by Carolyn Steel when she was writing her book, Hungry City. For the last chapter she wanted to tie everything together by describing how it should look in a city. She was looking for a word that described a more practical utopia, a city that is not perfect. Using the Greek words "sitos" which means food and '"topos" place, Steel was able to combine the two and created "Sitopia" or 'food place'. Carolyn uses this new word to describe a place with a perfect relationship between the city and the countryside.
"Sitopia" was created by Carolyn Steel when she was writing her book, Hungry City. For the last chapter she wanted to tie everything together by describing how it should look in a city. She was looking for a word that described a more practical utopia, a city that is not perfect. Using the Greek words "sitos" which means food and '"topos" place, Steel was able to combine the two and created "Sitopia" or 'food place'. Carolyn uses this new word to describe a place with a perfect relationship between the city and the countryside.
Caroyln Steel: How food shapes our cities
fOOD cYCLE
Throughout urban history many have thought about how to create workable, equable and sustainable cities. However, Carolyn Steel believes that food is the main key to coming up with the answers. Food is a connection to every activity that occurs in a city. This makes it a very large of a city. If people were able to see the world through food it would change everything.
wHY i CHOSE IT
I chose the topic of food and a utopian society because I really like food and I also really enjoy learning about how to make something better. I first found the idea when I searched for some Ted Talks about agriculture. I watched Carolyn Steel's video about five times before I finally understood the topic and stuck with it. I chose to do my project over this topic because I loved learning about the Agriculture and Urban Development chapter in my Human Geography class.
http://gastronomyspace.wordpress.com/author/alixdaguin/
http://betterymagazine.com/conversations/how-food-shapes-our-cities/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLWRclarri0&safe=active
Citations
Ampatzidou, Cristina. "How Food Shapes Our Cities." How Food Shapes Our Cities. Bettery Magazine, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 May 2014. <http://betterymagazine.com/conversations/how-food-shapes-our-cities/>.
Steel, Carolyn. "7. Sitopia." Carolyn Steel. N.p., 6 June 2008. Web. 30 May 2014. <http://www.hungrycitybook.co.uk/blog/?page_id=17>.