Food and the City

Niedersachsen is Germany’s leading agricultural state, home to a high-performing and innovative food industry, and its agricultural produce is in demand all over the world. The food and nutrition industry, with a turnover of more than 20 billion ¤ and well over 100,000 employees, is the state’s second most important economic sector after automobiles. Niedersachsen’s stalls house more pigs than anywhere else in Germany and every third German egg comes from Niedersachsen, no other federal state grows as many potatoes, and even sugar beet was first grown in the land around Braunschweig before it became popular all over Germany. Many famous food brands from Bahlsen to Wiesenhof are based in Niedersachsen. Internationally successful companies combine their long tradition in the production of high-quality foodstuffs with new production processes and perfected marketing strategies. So, food produced in the Niedersachsen State is mainly based on intensive productions destined to exportation. But in our consumerist society, we need to go back to more sustainable ways of life, and this affects also food related issues. That’s why the ENTWURF STADT focuses on the relationship between Food and the City in the Hannover region. The role of agriculture and food supply has to be reevaluated within the development of Hannover Region. The design studio suggests possible alternative ways to set up the relationship between Food and the City according to a sustainable paradigm. A possible vision for the city’s future development will be then envisaged: Hannover as a Rural Metropolis. In this utopian vision, Hannover should provide food not only for its region, but also for Berlin, Hamburg and the Rhein/Ruhr region.