Abstract Global food systems must be a part of strategies for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, optimal water use, and nitrogen pollution reduction. Insights from research in these areas can inform policies to build sustainable food systems yet limited work has been done to build understanding around whether or not sustainability efforts compete with supply chain resilience. This study explores the interplay between food supply resilience and environmental impacts in US cities, within the context of global food systems’ contributions to GHG emissions, water use, and nitrogen pollution. Utilizing county-level agricultural data, we assess the water use, GHG emissions, and nitrogen losses of urban food systems across the US, and juxtapose these against food supply resilience, represented by supply chain diversity. Our results highlight that supply chain resilience and sustainability can simultaneously exist and are not necessarily in competition with each other. We also found a significant per capita footprint in the environmental domains across Southern cities, specifically those along the Gulf Coast and southern Great Plains. Food supply chain resilience scores ranged from 0.18 to 0.69, with lower scores in the southwest and Great Plains, while northeastern and Midwestern regions demonstrated higher resilience. We found several cities with high supply chain resilience and moderate or low environmental impacts as well as areas with high impacts and low resilience. This study provides insights into potential trade-offs and opportunities for creating sustainable urban food systems in the US, underscoring the need for strategies that consider both resilience and environmental implications.
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The impact of ridesourcing on equity and sustainability in North American cities: A systematic review of the literature
Research on ridesourcing has grown exponentially in recent years. This study details the results of a systematic review of 161 publications on ridesourcing that explore environmental sustainability and equity in North American cities. We identify five main areas of research. First, ridesourcing is associated with two modal shifts: a decline of the taxi industry and a more complicated association with public transit ridership. Second, several studies have documented workers' rights and the challenges of contingent labor. Third, demographic studies show associations between ridesouring and affluent riders, and spatial analyses indicate that ridesourcing may exacerbate existing patterns of inequity in cities. Fourth, ridesourcing has dubious claims to improve environmental sustainability: it has only a small effect on vehicle ownership, but it increases emissions associated with deadheading, and pooled services do not reduce vehicle miles traveled. Fifth, ridesourcing companies also tend to oppose regulatory responses and sharing data with potential regulators. The review concludes with suggestions on areas for future research.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1743772
- PAR ID:
- 10488282
- Publisher / Repository:
- Elsevier Cities, The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Cities
- Volume:
- 133
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 0264-2751
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 104122
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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