The Climate Change-Food Security Nexus: Intergovernmental Frameworks and Hyper-Experimentation in Cities

In this discussion paper we detail the challenges of tackling the food security-climate change nexus in an era of hyper-experimentation in cities. We detail how the challenge of addressing food security and climate change at the international scale has opened the metaphorical door for urban experimentation, or interventions in the processes of city building at the local level taken by state and non-state actors. Yet, today’s urban experiments differ significantly from their historical counterparts. We detail examples from planning history to contextualize the differences between historical and contemporary urban experimentation. Through a review of three global and national urban experiments, we show that the speed, scale, and heterogeneity of experiments differ significantly from traditional planning practice, with equity and governance implications for cities and their citizens. We conclude with recommendations to help mediate some of the biggest challenges with hyper-experimentation in cities.