March 13-15: Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World

By 2030, 60 percent of the world's population is expected to live in cities. This urbanization process goes together closely with growing urban poverty and food insecurity. Currently, approximately one-third of the world's population is living in slums and informal settlements. If prevailing trends continue, this figure could reach 2 billion by 2030.

As the world population urbanizes, how will all of these city dwellers eat?

Penn's Institute for Urban Research (PennIUR) is convening some of the brightest minds from around the world to discuss the critical connection between urbanization and global food security at a conference next week, Feeding Cities: Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World. The conference is organized in collaboration with Penn's Design, Medicine, Wharton, Arts & Sciences, Law, Education, Nursing, Social Policy, and Vetrinary Medicine for a cross- disciplinary approach in search of answers to the connundrum of feeding huge urban populaitions.

Local luminaries who are participating include the Food Trust's Yael Lehmann (Wednesday 5:30pm), Penn Earth Environmental Science Professor Emeritus Robert Giegengack (Thursday, 9:30am), and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Drew Becher (Friday, noon). Check out the full schedule below.

The Feeding Cities conference will take place Wednesday, March 13 - Friday, March 15 at Houston Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus (3417 Spruce Street). Registration costs $25 ($5 for Penn Faculty/Staff/Student or Students with valid ID). Register online in advance.