What will we eat?
// Replenishing food deserts
S.J. Bremer (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
G Bracken – Mentor (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
Ulf Hackauf – Mentor (TU Delft - Environmental Technology and Design)
A.E. Rout – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Building Knowledge)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The United States is regarded as a nation of abundance, yet millions face persistent and widespread food insecurity. Nearly one in six Americans struggle to secure enough food on a daily basis and 23.5 million Americans are living in food deserts, urban areas lacking access to healthy food within a one-mile radius. These issues disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities, color, where nutritious food is often physically or financially inaccessible. As a result, residents rely on fast food and processed goods, leading to poor nutrition and chronic illness. Such areas, known as food deserts, highlight how food insecurity is deeply tied to geography and systemic inequality.
This project focuses on Austin, a neighborhood in Chicago facing compounded challenges such as high poverty, limited accessibility, and low rates of vehicle ownership, all of which restrict access to fresh food. The aim is to explore how physical, social, and institutional infrastructures shape access to essential resources like food, and to develop a toolkit and design strategy that that empowers communities through bottom-up approaches and engagement.
Through fieldwork, spatial analysis, and a food security framework centered on availability, accessibility, agency, and acceptability, the project identifies critical gaps and opportunities in the neighborhood’s urban fabric. The outcomes design and policy interventions, ranging from small-scale tools to large-scale proposals, each linked to observations in the field.
The project concludes food insecurity must be tackled through systemic urban planning efforts, not just aid or education. Through strategic, multi-scalar interventions, urban planning can help build local capacity, increase access, and promote food justice in neighborhoods like Austin.