Yi-Shin Chang coauthors paper entitled “Governing for food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan and Nanjing, China” with HCP partners Zhenzhong Si, Jonathan Crush, Steffanie Scott and Taiyang Zhong. The paper is published in the journal Urban Governance. It draws on survey findings from the HCP project “Assessing and Mitigating the Food Security Consequences of COVID-19 in China” and examines an inventory of over 400 Chinese policy-related documents that provide a wide range of information about governance responses to the pandemic in early 2020, with a particular focus on two cities: Wuhan and Nanjing. Four major governance challenges are addressed: agricultural production, food transportation, stabilization of food prices, and new contactless methods in purchasing foods. The research highlights important recommendations for post-pandemic policy responses around urban food security: ensuring consistency throughout all levels of government, strengthening existing food reserves to leverage emergency responses, addressing the root causes of pandemic-related food insecurity by focusing on access at the household level, and improving food utilization.
