Data requirements for a systematic analysis of urban food flows and their sustainability outcomes

This paper systematically assesses the quantity and quality of existing secondary data on urban food flows, as well as its potential use to analyse the impacts of such flows on human health and environmental sustainability. To do so, the authors built a digital, open-access platform to systematise, store and visualise urban food flows data. Given the importance of systematically understanding diverse urban food systems, the objective of the platform is to ease the analysis and comparison of food flows across cities, and to provide a panorama of the quality of datasets and data gaps. By developing an accessible methodology that allows for effortless generation of data visualisations, additional urban food datasets can be included in the platform in order to enhance our common understanding of contemporary urban food metabolisms. The paper presents data on key nodes of urban food systems: production, imports, exports, processing, wholesale, retail, consumption, and food loss and waste. The platform also estimates the environmental impacts of each city’s diet and how much such a diet differs from a sustainable and healthy diet. To illustrate how the platform works, we present a preliminary analysis of four cities: Cape Town (South Africa), London (United Kingdom), Mexico City (Mexico) and Milan (Italy). We systematise and analyse pertinent secondary data for each city, and assess data quality and data gaps. We conclude with a reflection on the strengths and limitations of the online platform, and with an open invitation to use the platform to analyse other cities.