In a session chaired by Nancy Holman; Alexandra Payne, Tom Henderson, and Sarah Williams will be discussing how cities around the world can tackle the issue of food security, employing urban agriculture solutions. 

Cities and regions across the world are experiencing pressures on the housing, governance and sustainability fronts. Challenges such as creating sustainable transport links, enhancing local democracy or tackling housing shortage push urbanists to think creatively. Founded in 1966, LSE's MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies (RUPS) programme has established its reputation as a key player in urban innovation with alumni working in public policy, architecture, think tanks and government across the world. Our new series Progressing Planning is designed to showcase LSE's impact on urban issues by bringing together academics and RUPS alumni. In so doing, we aim to show how research at LSE links to practice across the world.

This interactive session will bring together professionals, academics and the public around presentations and a general discussion.

Alexandra Payne is an Urban Planner and Policy Consultant at Amplify Planning in Brooklyn, New York. She provides strategic development and project management services to improve food access, urban agriculture, and neighborhood development initiatives in cities. Graduated in 2010 in Regional and Urban Planning Studies, she is an alumna of LSE. 

Sarah Williams is Programmes Director for Sustain and part of the Capital Growth team who successfully supported 2,012 new community food growing spaces in London. Sarah has developed new areas of work at Sustain including the national Big Dig programme and the Growing Health project. She currently oversees most of the London programme of work, run under the London Food Link umbrella and represents Sustain at the London Food Board.

Tom Henderson is Programme Manager for SmarterUK at techUK, where he covers Digital Twins, Smart Cities, Climate Risk and Resilience, and works to ensure that smart systems, technologies, and solutions are integral parts of city strategies. Tom also worked as a researcher for the GLA to devise an analytical framework to capture the phenomenon of 'super-diversity' in global cities.

Nancy Holman is Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Director of RUPS. Her work deals primarily with issues of governance and local planning including sustainable development and community participation. She has often used social network analysis to explore the complex relationships in the multi-level, multi-actor partnerships present in modern governing arrangements.

RUPS (Regional and Urban Planning Studies) is a strongly focused and internationally based planning programme with a long tradition in training both people seeking careers in urban and regional planning policy and mid-career professionals.

LSE London is a research centre at the LSE that focuses on the economic and social issues of the London region, as well as the problems and possibilities of other urban and metropolitan regions. The centre has a strong international reputation particularly in the fields of labour markets, social and demographic change, housing, finance, and governance, and it is the leading academic centre for analyses of city-wide developments in London.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEProgressingPlanning