The edible city: A concept for the sustainable and resilient city during the COVID-19 pandemic? : A case study of Andernach and Todmorden

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of cities and set a new focus on planning sustainable and resilient cities. This thesis aims to assess the edible city, where edible plants are grown in public spaces, in terms of sustainability and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate its contribution to urban sustainability and resilience. Further, it explores the implications for planning an edible city. As part of this case study, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted in two edible cities: Edible City Andernach, Germany and Incredible Edible Todmorden, England. The results of this study demonstrate that both edible cities contribute to sustainability, but each is skewed towards one sustainability dimension. Concerning resilience, the study illustrates that both cases are able to withstand the pandemic impacts and adapt particularly in their focus sustainability dimension. However, general resilience is negatively impacted by a stance of waiting-it-out. For planning an edible city, a combination of a top-down and bottom-up approach is recommended. In conclusion, this thesis shows that the edible city contributes to urban sustainability and resilience through the continuing provision of ecosystem services and co-benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.