Team

Lead PI: Anu Ramaswami (Princeton University)

Co-PIs: Jason Ren (Princeton University), Hikaru Peterson (University of Minnesota), Tracy Twine (University of Minnesota), Nic Jelinski (University of Minnesota), Saba Siddiki (Syracuse University)

Industry and Policy Partners: Health Partners, City of Minneapolis, ICLEI, UN Environment

Students and Post-docs: Scarlett Blaeser (University of Minnesota), Kirti Das (Princeton University), Brandon DeBruhl (Syracuse University), Masoumeh Heshmatpour (University of Minnesota), Aaron Leininger (Princeton University)

Researchers and Administrative Staff: Graham Ambrose (Princeton University), Emily Eckart (Princeton University), Kat LaBine (University of Minnesota), Stefan Liess (University of Minnesota)

Project Overview

This project seeks to develop an interdisciplinary convergence science of Sustainable Urban Food (SUrF) systems to advance wellbeing, health, environment, resilience & equity (WHERe) outcomes at the urban food-energy-water (FEW) nexus, using a trans-boundary coupled social-biophysical systems framework. Specifically, we will integrate different strategies to advance WHERe outcomes in urban food systems including spatial design of distributed urban agriculture, food waste valorization, behavioral nudging for sustainable diet change, and city organizational capacity to implement these actions in city food action plans.

The project is split into five themes:

1. Distributed Urban Agriculture and Spatial Distribution of WHERe outcomes
2. New Fit-for-Purpose Food Waste Valorization Technologies for FEW benefits
3. Behavioral Nudges for Food Waste Separation & Diet Change
4. Coupled Biophysical-Social Scenario Modeling for Convergence
5. Evaluating Co-learning & Convergence Science with Cities

Publications

• Ramaswami, A., Ayuk, E. T., Das, K., Teixeira, I., Akpalu, W., Ferreira, J., & de Leao, V. S. (2022). Urban Agriculture’s Potential to Advance Multiple Sustainability Goals: Policy Guidance from the International Resource Panel. International Resource Panel.
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020). Innovations in the food system: Exploring the future of food: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. A Ramaswami Contributor to: “Chapter 3 Innovations in Food Production and Processing and Implications for Food Systems.”
• Ambrose, G., Das, K., Fan, Y., & Ramaswami, A. (2022). Comparing happiness associated with household and community gardening: Implications for food action planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 230.
• Ambrose, G., Siddiki, S., Brady, U. (2022). Assessing Design of Public Food Policy Councils Engaged in Local Food System Governance. Policy Design and Practice
• Boyer, D., Ramaswami, A., Nixon, P., Jelinski, N. (2022). A Hybrid Method to Quantify Household Urban Agriculture Gardening: Implications for Sustainable and Equitable Food Action Planning. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 
• Das, K., & Ramaswami, A. (2022). Who Gardens and How in Urban USA: Informing Social Equity in Urban Agriculture Action Plans. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
• Heshmatpour, M. & Peterson, H. (2021). Effects of social norm and educational interventions on household organics recycling: Evidence from two alternative curbside organics recycling programs. Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.
• Jelinski, N.A., Nicklay, J.A., LaBine, K. Spatial distribution of soil carbon, phosphorus, and lead stocks in food-producing and non-food producing areas of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, USA.
• Leininger, A. & Ren, Z.J. (2021). Circular utilization of food waste to biochar enhances thermophilic co-digestion performance. Bioresource Technology, 332, 125130.
• Nicklay, J.A., Cadieux, K.V., Rogers, M.A., Jelinski, N.J., LaBine, K. & Small, G.E. (2020). Facilitating Spaces of Urban Agroecology: A Learning Framework for Community-University Partnerships. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
• Nixon, P., & Ramaswami, A. (2022). County-level analysis of current local capacity of agriculture to meet household demand: a dietary requirements perspective. Environmental Research Letters, 17(4).
• Ramaswami, A., & Boyer, D. (2022). Principles for a Sustainable Circular Economy at the Urban-Regional Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Advancing Environment, Health, and Equity. The Bridge, 52(2).
• Ramaswami, A., Boyer, D., Nixon, P., & Jelinski, N. (2022). A hybrid method to quantify household urban agriculture gardening: Implications for sustainable and equitable food action planning. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 6.

Educational Modules

• Urban Greenery and Air Temperature (Tracy Twine and Stefan Liess)
• Fit-for-Purpose Food Waste Valorization (Zhiyon Ren and Aaron Leininger)
• Designing Representative Collaborative Policy Making (Saba Siddiki and Graham Ambrose)

Videos

• Urban Food System Innovations and Knowledge Coproduction (Frontiers in knowledge coproduction for sustainability) (March 31, 2023)
• Community Food Action Priorities: Perspectives from New Jersey and India (March 31, 2023)
• Mapping the US Agrifood System at the County-Level, Peter Nixon, Postdoc (April 28, 2022)
• How food waste valorization fights climate change, Jinjin Chen (April 27, 2022)

News

• How cities can fight climate change (Knowable Magazine, June 9, 2022)
• Water Research Foundation announces 2021 Paul L. Busch Award winner (WRF, Sept. 20, 2021)
• ‘Better food waste management will give India both nutritional and environmental security' (Times of India, Apr. 3, 2021)
• The future of food in a changing climate (Princeton University News, Sept. 21, 2020)
• Ren wins Huber Prize for contributions to sustainable water infrastructure (Andlinger Center News, Apr. 28, 2020)
• Food systems are fodder for curbing cities' environmental impacts (Princeton Engineering, Mar. 1, 2020)
• Princeton researchers receive $2.5 million to advance the science of urban food sustainability (Princeton University News, Nov. 6, 2019)
• University researchers help shape citywide food action plan (Minnesota Daily, Apr. 19, 2019)
• University of Minnesota study maps urban food capabilities (The Minnesota Daily, Oct. 18, 2018)