Improving Food System Sustainability and Infrastructure

WHY: Food is integral to municipal infrastructure and intimately associated with public health, and economic and community development. New York City expects to be home to one million additional residents by 2030, and we must work to develop strategies to improve the sustainability of our current systems while also meeting this growing need.  
 
HOW: PlaNYC was an unprecedented effort undertaken by Mayor Bloomberg to prepare the city for one million more residents, strengthen our economy, combat climate change, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers. As of April 2011, PlaNYC was updated to incorporate food policy initiatives into the 20-year sustainability plan for the city. For a summary of how the crosscutting issue of food fits throughout, visit PlaNYC. For a more in-depth description of our food related initiatives, visit these six different sections of PlaNYC:

• Housing & Neighborhoods (in PDF)
  (Promote walkable destinations for retail and other services, including healthy food options in underserved communities)
  
  
• Parks & Public Space (in PDF) 
  (Facilitate urban agriculture and community gardening)
  
  
• Brownfields (in PDF)
  (Promote green space on remediated brownfields)
  
  
• Water Supply (in PDF)
  (Continue the watershed protection program, which includes our partnership with the Watershed Agricultural Council to promote sustainable farming techniques in the region)
  
  
• Transportation (in PDF)
  (Launch a study of New York City’s food distribution pathways to improve freight movement)
  
  
• Solid Waste (in PDF)
  (Create additional opportunities to recover organic material, including food waste)