Growing a Greener City in Paris + Toronto: A Public Forum

Event Summary

On Monday, September 18, 2023, a public forum on "Growing a Greener City" was held at The Pit in the Architecture Building on 325 Church Street, featuring a diverse range of speakers and panels focused on urban agriculture in Paris and Toronto.

Moderated by James Kuhns, the event’s introduction  included opening remarks by Lisa Landrum for the Department of Architectural Science and Mustafa Koc for the Centre for Studies in Food Security. Joe Nasr provided background of the APT-TMU relationship around urban agriculture.

Panel 1: How to Build Support for Urban Agriculture:

Moderated by Joe Nasr, this first panel explored research and support programs offered by AgroParisTech/INRAE. Christine Aubry discussed four ways AgroParisTech/INRAE supports urban agriculture, while Taoufik Souami examined how large-scale development plans in Greater Paris integrate urban and peri-urban agriculture. Local respondents Lauren Baker and Jane Hayes joined the discussion.

Panel 2: Food as Urban Ecology: 

Rhonda Teitel-Payne moderated the second panel, featuring Agnès Lelièvre discussing resource-use efficiency for sustainable city food systems and Giulia Giacchè exploring urban agriculture as a source of ecological and cultural services. Lorraine Johnson and Emma Tamlin contributed to the discussion. The event concluded with a reception by the French Consulate 

This forum served as a platform for insightful discussions on urban agriculture, involving key stakeholders, researchers, and local respondents from both Paris and Toronto. The event aimed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two cities around the ways urban agriculture can contribute to the growth of greener urban spaces.

For more information, please read details about the event and the speakers here (external link)  and watch the event recording here (external link) .