The mega urban food system of Dhaka/Bangladesh

该项目的出发点是，对特大城市背景下的粮食系统的分析提供了对全球进程在地方舞台上产生的不连续性、争论、碎片化和冲突的特殊见解。这一命题基于六个假设：1）大城市粮食系统位于正式和非正式粮食领域的交界处 2）特大城市粮食系统反映了影响粮食供应、分配和消费的全球和地方力量之间的动态联系。3)粮食系统的非正规领域不断适应全球化食物链的主要模式的结构和动态。4)特大城市的粮食系统反映了具体物质和资源流动的动态。5)粮食市场是特大城市住区发展的动态节点。6)非正规部门的运作和效率对于维持城市人口的生计和粮食安全至关重要。根据这些假设，该项目将结合发展经济学和发展地理学，对孟加拉国达卡的粮食系统进行实证研究。该项目解决了以下两个指导性问题：1）达卡的特大城市社会是如何围绕食物组织起来的？2)在各种可能的情景下，未来的粮食系统会发生什么变化？

The project starts from the proposition that the analysis of food systems in megaurban contexts offers special insights into the discontinuities, contentions, fragmentations and conflicts which global processes generate in local arenas. This proposition is based upon six assumptions: 1) Megaurban food systems are located at the interface between formal and informal spheres of food supply, distribution and consumption 2) Megaurban food systems reflect the dynamic articulations between global and local forces that shape food supply, distribution and consumption. 3) The informal sphere of the food system is constantly adapting to the structure and dynamics of the dominant modes of globalized food chains. 4) Megaurban food systems reflect the dynamics of specific material and resource flows. 5) Food markets are dynamic nodes within megaurban settlement development. 6) The functioning and efficiency of the informal sector is of utmost importance for sustaining the livelihoods and food security of the urban population. Based upon these assumptions, the project will integrate development economics and development geography to empirically study the food system of Dhaka in Bangladesh. The project addresses the following two guiding questions: 1) How is the megaurban society of Dhaka organized around food? 2) How might the food system change in the future under various plausible scenarios?