Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EdiCitNet (Edible Cities NetworkIntegrating Edible City Solutions for social resilient and sustainably productive cities)
Reporting period: 2020-03-01 to 2021-08-31
The project has a multi-stakeholder-oriented, interdisciplinary planning focus, which allows for an overarching, formal implementation and promotes citizen participation. So far, EdiCitNet has successfully founded the EdiCitNet City Teams (WP1) in participating cities, making sure that the implementation of ECS will be a participative process, where different urban actors, identified via a stakeholder analysis, will co-create a future city model beneficial for all, while overcoming social barriers and ensuring strong social cohesion. In the pursuit of creating a global network of Edible Cities, a monthly meeting format was established (WP7), where all City Teams can discuss their current issues and learn from each other. As a participative steering group the City Team is also the backbone of the project’s main objectives aiming at a global network and anchoring ECS within the political discourse, as well as in the city administration for shaping resilient, hence regenerating cities.
Members of the constantly growing network receive updates via the EdiCitNet monthly newsletter and are invited to join the Community Management Tool (CMT).
Economically, ECS generate healthy food products, which helps create green jobs, leads to novel business strategies and welcomes investment possibilities on an innovative, green market (WP6). The EdiCitNet Marketplace is the platform that fosters the resulting green economy by creating a network of Edible City Solution Initiatives operating in the field, encouraging cooperation among them and offering them free business consultancy. Complementary to that, the EdiCitNet toolbox (WP2) introduces Edible City Solutions as a measure for regenerating cities and structuring planning relevant parameters or main characteristics of ECS. For implementation this decision support system will underpin the activities within ten Living Labs.
Currently there are five Living Labs—in Andernach, Berlin, Oslo, Havana and Rotterdam—being monitored (WP5). Furthermore, the Living Labs (WP3) offer ECS-related activities to engage citizens. In the meantime, other cities—Sant Feliu de LLobegregat, Sempeter pri Gorici, Montevideo, Guangzhou, Berlin, Lomé and Carthage—are in the process of co-creating an ECS masterplan (WP4).
• City Teams are diversified and implementation plans in the LL are in place. There is a lively cooperation and exchange between FRCs, monitoring is also established according to the elaborated plans
• The Serious Game has been introduced and tested
• The EdiCitNet Toolbox is operative and all tools are publicly available, the toolbox is available in 7 languages and has 140 distinct users registered, more than 300 profiles of ECS are available
• Development of a low fidelity prototype for the integration of Toolbox, Marketplace and Join the network into one multi-functional online platform in planning.
• FC Leads have been trained in the TPM process, with phase 1 of the process being completed in 3 City Teams and started in 2 others. Phase 2 of the TPM has started in 3 City Teams
• A Masterplan Template has been created
• Development of the Organisational Value System (OVS) in collaboration with ECSIs to help them analyse and understand their business models to support their continuity and upscaling.
• BCT facilitated exchange among practitioners working on urban agriculture, researchers, policy-makers and aspiring entrepreneurs in Oslo on the need to develop business models for urban agriculture
• Through “the blended consultancy workshops” in Berlin and Koblenz, 20 ECSIs gain knowledge about relevant financing models and the resources to expand or initiate ECSIs
• Tailor-made “blended consultancy” for ECSIs in FRCs is underway in Berlin and Oslo as part of the EdiCitNet market place
• Increased information and knowledge-sharing between different City Teams and between City Teams and the general
• Raised visibility of and awareness for ECS among various different target groups on an international level through expansion and growth of social media channels
• Growth of the network. 87 new members joined the Edible Cities Network via the website sign-up button
• General public encouraged and inspired to participate in the EdiCitNet project via public events
• Increased interconnection and knowledge exchange between the project and other sister projects
• Transition from a project to a network-based governance model and structures
• Development of a long-term platform for sharing knowledge and connecting people engaged (or not) with ECS
• The functionalities of the EdiCitNet Toolbox online platform with an interactive catalogue to facilitate knowledge sharing among practitioners
• Serious game design and integration of serious game in the Transitions Pathway methodologies
• Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) unified list and performance assessment
• Inclusive, co-creative way of developing the IPPs
• LLs are diverse and cover various approaches beyond urban landscaping, ranging from network development (Rotterdam) to broadened bottom-up involvement of stakeholders (Andernach), from dealing with densification in socially disadvantaged
neighborhoods (Berlin) to increasing social value (Oslo)
• Promotion of FC (and FRC) day to encourage exchange
• Masterplan guide developed for cities to follow the TPM process.
• COVID-19 related measures of digitalisation and scientific paper on lessons learnt through the pandemic and a second paper on Citizens Engagement.
• Progression of indicators from the realm of academic research to actual implementation in real-world situations.
• The development of the Organisational Value System (OVS)
• The Value Chain of ECS and the complementing Business Model Canvas Tool to support the independent use of tools for planning and organisation of the ECSI
• Establishment of a new networking and knowledge exchange format known as “City Team Meets City Teams Meetings”
• EdiCitNet, together with other Sister Projects, has set up its own Dissemination Booster Group
• In addition to communication channels on Twitter and LinkedIn, EdiCitNet is now also successfully represented on Instagram, Facebook and You tube.
Expected results:
Five Front Runner Cities (FRC), supported by a highly interdisciplinary consortium of city authorities, SME, NGOs and academia, demonstrate their unique experience with individual Living Labs and transfer their knowledge to seven dedicated Follower Cities (FC), determined to replicate ECS for the benefit of their inhabitants. The carefully selected group of FRC and FC allows for a deeper understanding of ECS impacts via closely studying and monitoring implementation in a large variety of environments. A truly global network is developed involving city partners based in Central America, Africa and East Asia.