If a city is its people, and its people are what they eat, then shouldn’t food play a larger role in our dialogue about how and where we live? The food of a metropolis is essential to its character. Native plants, proximity to farmland, the locations of supermarkets, immigration, food-security concerns, how chefs are trained: how a city nourishes itself might say more than anything else about what kind of city it is. With a cornucopia of essays on comestibles, The Edible City considers how one city eats. It includes dishes on peaches and poverty, on processing plants and public gardens, on rats and bees and bad restaurant service, on schnitzel and school lunches. There are incisive studies of food-safety policy, of feeding the poor, and of waste, and a happy tale about a hardy fig tree. Together they form a saucy picture of how Toronto – and, by extension, every city – sustains itself, from growing basil on balconies to four-star restaurants. Dig into The Edible City and get the whole story, from field to fork.

These essays form a saucy picture of how Toronto sustains itself, from growing basil on balconies to four-star restaurants.

"The foodie book of the year" The Spectator ''An inspiring book for city dwellers who pine for the bounty of a countryside hedgerow' Sunday Times 'The forager's magic trick; To conjure a meal out of seemingly nothing and ensure you never look the same way at a neglected green space again' Daily Telegraph 'I love the idea that I could pick up dinner from a local park rather than from a shop on the way home. A book about urban forging could so easily have been worthy, but it's an entertaining read with recipes: get ready for nettle tempura...' Delicious magazine 'A man after my own heart.' Mark Hix 'That is the final act of the forager's magic trick. To conjure a meal out of seemingly nothing, and ensure you never look the same way at a neglected green space again' The Telegraph Once you start foraging, you'll never look at the city around you in the same way again. As we walk through the city with our headphones in or our eyes glued to screens, it's easy to forget that we are surrounded by wonderful things to eat. Our parks, pathways, gardens and wild spaces are crammed full of delicious, nutrient-rich plants; all we need to know is how to find them. From dandelions to winter cress, wild garlic to chickweed and ground ivy to water mint, this book takes us through a year of delicious, foraged food. Each entry is illustrated in colour to help you identify the plant and followed by a recipe using these remarkable ingredients. In The Edible City, urban forager John Rensten gives us the tools to identify, source and cook delicious food from the year-long bounty around us, whether that's nettle and three-cornered leek gnocchi, winter purslane pesto, or stinging nettle tempura. This account of a year of urban foraging is perfect for any nature lover or home cook looking for exciting new ingredients to experiment with.

This book shows what role nature can play in a city and how this can make it a better place for people to live. People, planners, designers and politicians are working towards the development of green cities. Some cities are already promoted as green cities, while others are on their way to become one. But their goals are often unclear and can include different facets. Presenting contributions from world leading researchers in the field of urban ecology, the editors provide an interdisciplinary overview of best practices and challenges in creating green cities. They show examples of how to build up these cities from bits and pieces to districts and urban extensions. Each example concludes with a summary of the collected knowledge, the learning points and how this can be used in other places. The best practices are collected from around the world – Europe, America and Asia. Contributions cover a wide range of biophysical and cultural backgrounds within these three continents, including the Central, Southern and Eastern European region, as well as Latin and North America. The new dynamic urban development of Asia is illustrated by case studies from China and the Indian subcontinent. The reader will learn which role nature can play in green cities and what the basic requirements are in terms of culture, pre-existing nature conditions, existing urban surroundings, history, design and planning.

"Join Indira Naidoo, bestselling author of The Edible Balcony, on her inspiring journey as she visits the communities turning concrete into crops. Vegie patches are no longer confined to our backyards and balconies; they're spilling out across our streets and suburbs, taking root wherever a seed can grow. Neighbours are working side by side, batlling council restrictions, wild weather and pest attacks to transform urban spaces into edible oases. In The Edible City, Indira visits some of Australia's most innovative and memorable urban green spaces, from Sydney's Wayside Chapel's award-winning vegetable garden and beehive, to the rooftop wormfarm above a Melbourne restaurant. She discovers that in the process these urban gardeners reconnect with their food but, most importantly, they reconnect with each other. Indira also shares her tips for setting up your own community garden, as well as practical advice on beekeeping, wormfarming, composting and growing your own fruit and veg. Plus there are 40 delicious recipes to cook and enjoy. Community gardens change people's lives. They reconnect with food, but most importantly, they also reconnect with each other."--Wheelers.co.nz.

The story of food in Seattle is a living history. Through photos and narratives, "Edible City" takes us from the city's early eating days up through the modern boom, introducing us to iconic figures and signature foods. It also includes several recipes that helped define the region, from the Dutch Baby invented by a local restaurateur to an irresistible shortcake using strawberries developed by Washington State University. From farmers markets to foraged foods to famous restaurants, we learn how what we eat helps show who we are.

Nature-Based Solutions for More Sustainable Cities makes a clear case of performances, impacts, and benefits generated by NBS in cities providing a comprehensive framework approach to understand the real and full potential of NBS at the urban level.

When Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates moved into a duplex in a run-down part of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the tenth-of-an-acre lot was barren ground and bad soil, peppered with broken pieces of concrete, asphalt, and brick. The two friends got to work designing what would become not just another urban farm, but a "permaculture paradise" replete with perennial broccoli, paw paws, bananas, and moringa—all told, more than two hundred low-maintenance edible plants in an innovative food forest on a small city lot. The garden—intended to function like a natural ecosystem with the plants themselves providing most of the garden's needs for fertility, pest control, and weed suppression—also features an edible water garden, a year-round unheated greenhouse, tropical crops, urban poultry, and even silkworms. In telling the story of Paradise Lot, Toensmeier explains the principles and practices of permaculture, the choice of exotic and unusual food plants, the techniques of design and cultivation, and, of course, the adventures, mistakes, and do-overs in the process. Packed full of detailed, useful information about designing a highly productive permaculture garden, Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild plan: to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed.

Exploring the ways that contemporary urban life takes the Holocene for granted, this multidisciplinary book warns that anthropogenic environmental impacts are on course to challenge the viability of most human settlements. It highlights how, despite increased warnings, most cities appear to be in denial of the potential impending catastrophes and remain ill-prepared to handle major disruptions.