DownScale-Up!

DownScale-Up!: Downscaling global agri-food flows with an upscaled regional system

Luesink, Amber (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
Hugenholtz, Henriette (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
de Kruif, Rosa (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)
Chou, yuru (TU Delft Architecture and the Built Environment)

Qu, L. (mentor)
Wandl, Alex (mentor)
Newton, C.E.L. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

2021-04-15

The Netherlands exported in 2017 for 91,7 billion euros and exported for even more: 62,6 billion euros(CBS, 2018). This shows the big agri-food fl ows in which the Netherlands is involved. Sadly, these global fl ows have a big impact on economic, social and environmental sustainability worldwide. For example, transport causes many emissions, there is an unfair economic system that keeps farmers trappedand there is a lot of environmental damage. This is a situation that needs to change, but the Netherlands is also very dependent on the economy that the worldwide trade brings. This shows the problemthat South Holland is dealing with: The Netherlands is too much economic dependent on its agri-foodimport and export fl ows and is thereby causing economic, social and environmental sustainability challenges.This report proposes to DownScale international agri-food fl ows and Scale-Up a regional food system.The import and export fl ows are limited to only the European Union while food hubs and knowledgenetworks contribute to a system in which local food consumption and participation are important values. Waste, water and CO2 systems contribute to a circular approach of these DownScaled fl ows andthe production of seaweed helps to change the diet which is necessary to make a DownScaled systempossible. The report is supported by a sustainability triangle resulting from the nested sustainabilitymodel, the R-ladder of sustainability and the X-curve for a sustainable transition. A toolkit of interventions is designed as a strategy to achieve the vision goals. With DownScale-Up a new circular economywith DownScaled international fl ows and a Scaled-Up regional food system, is created by 2050. CBS (2018), De Nederlandse Landbouwexport, retrieved in March 2021, from https://edepot.wur.nl/434974#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20De%20export%20van%20landbouwgoederen1)%20wordt,1%20miljard%20euro%20in%202017

Agri-food
Circular economy
Global flows
Regional Food System
Participation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:31fd0227-13ad-41c0-b0d0-00bbf08f05e4

Student theses

student report

© 2021 Amber Luesink, Henriette Hugenholtz, Rosa de Kruif, yuru Chou