Plural Values of Urban Foragingscapes in Edible Cities

• Applicant: Dr. Isabel Díaz Reviriego
• Subject Area: Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Sociology ; Empirical Social Research ; Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology ; Human Geography ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 566760671

Wider research context. Urban initiatives bear much potential for multidimensional transformations towards sustainable food systems. Urban foraging, the practice of picking unmanaged or hardly managed plants and fungi in public urban green spaces, has an important role in the procurement and consumption of food in cities worldwide. However, studies on urban food systems have focused on urban agriculture and gardening, whereby the understanding of foraging in urban food systems is still poor and hampered by the fact that it is an informal phenomenon and urban foragers are heterogenous and culturally diverse. Case studies have shown that different value systems and competing interests relating to the use of public urban green spaces may lead to conflicts between urban foragers, green space managers and citizens, constraining the practice of urban foraging within urban food systems. Research objectives. This research aims to advance the understanding and recognition of urban foraging, and to explore its significance in relation to urban food systems transformations and edible city initiatives across four European cities. The objectives are to: a. identify the human and non-human components of urban foragingscapes and their interactions; b. elicit the values held by foragers towards urban foraging, foraging locations and foraged species; c. scrutinise conflicting values and priorities about foraging among urban dwellers, including foragers, non-foragers and representatives of public authorities; d. generate actionable knowledge that supports the harmonisation of conflicting values and priorities regarding foraging in public urban green spaces for informing food system transformations towards edible cities. Methods. We use a pioneering approach to urban foraging that combines assemblage ethnography, photovoice, arts-based focus groups, Q-methodology, online surveys and visioning workshops. Level of innovation. This project innovates the state-of-the-art by: i) adopting a value lens to understanding the contribution of urban foraging to food systems transformations, ii) applying innovative visual, arts- and future thinking-based methods to provide new insights into urban foraging, iii) employing participatory and inclusive ways of involving foragers in research processes, and iv) adopting comparative research approaches in socio-culturally and geographically diverse European cities. Primary researchers involved, Christoph Schunko and Isabel Díaz-Reviriego have extensive experience at the interface between wild plant and food systems research. Moreover, Christoph brings an ethnobotanical background on urban foraging and Isabel a background in gender and intersectional perspectives in sustainability science. They form a complementary team that is well suited to lead the proposed project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Christoph Schunko