Integrated Sustainability Planning and Local Food Systems: Examining Areas of and Gaps in Food Systems Integration in Community Sustainability Plans for Municipalities across British Columbia

Abstract

No “one size fits all” approach exists for local sustainability and food systems planning. Such planning must balance needs for being both comprehensive and place-based. The current study explores this tension by examining Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) developed by municipalities in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The research examines items and actions related to food systems (focusing on agriculture and food production) in the ICSPs of municipalities in different regions across BC to (1) identify how municipalities “integrate” food systems with other sustainability objectives, (2) elucidate how place and geography influence integrated planning, and (3) reveal gaps in integrated approaches to developing local food systems. The study employs document analysis and thematic coding methodology. The results indicate that common areas of food systems integration in ICSPs include local economy and education. Many plans outline goals for bolstering local food economies and building local food capacity through community participation and engagement. Findings also show how foci and approaches for developing sustainable food systems vary by region. The study elucidates how food systems are integrated within place-based sustainability plans as well as reveals gaps that local governments can address when adopting and implementing integrated sustainability plans for improving food systems.

The climate-biodiversity-health nexus: a framework for integrated community sustainability planning in the Anthropocene

“…Such research could involve document analysis, where the framework is applied to identify both areas of integration and gaps in local plans and policies. By way example, Issac et al (2022) applied document analysis to community sustainability plans of municipalities in British Columbia, Canada, to examine the integration of food and agriculture with other local sustainability objectives in these plans. Their study investigated the presence and absence of food system considerations in relation to other local planning and development areas (e.g., economy, social justice, transportation, etc.…”

“…Building on the latter argument, a potential issue with the operationalization of the WEF nexus is that it is vague in what is attempting to be achieved through the application of the framework. For example, the types of goals that exist within the food planning and policy domain are plentiful and highly varied, with different food systems strategies relating to and supporting a wide range of community objectives such as economic development, food security, tourism, and community health (Issac et al, 2022).…”

Toward a Design Framework for Mathematical Modeling Activities: An Analysis of Official Exemplars in Hong Kong Mathematics Education

“…Document analysis is a qualitative research method used for reviewing and evaluating documents to elicit meaning, gain understanding, and develop empirical knowledge [25,26]. This research approach has been widely applied in the field of sustainable development [27][28][29][30][31][32] and mathematics education [33]. Depending on researchers' objectives, their documents can take a variety of forms, such as policy documents [27][28][29], curriculum documents [30], community sustainability plans [31], and media articles [32].…”

“…This research approach has been widely applied in the field of sustainable development [27][28][29][30][31][32] and mathematics education [33]. Depending on researchers' objectives, their documents can take a variety of forms, such as policy documents [27][28][29], curriculum documents [30], community sustainability plans [31], and media articles [32]. For example, Yang [33] analyzed three textbook chapters on the Pythagorean theorem.…”