Search results

The governance of our towns and cities requires an approach that connects people with nature and places. Digital technology can be the glue that does this, if it serves the needs of the various stakeholders, including urban communities. It means identifying the potential connections across people, digital, and place themes, examining successful approaches, and exploring some of the current practice (or lack of it) in spatial planning and smart cities. This can be considered using a range of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies with other methodologies which combine the use of socioeconomic and environmental data about the urban environment. This ambient domain sensing can provide the ecological and other data to show how digital connectivity is addressing the placemaking challenges alongside providing implications for urban governance and communities.

Amidst compounding crises and increasing global population’s nutritional needs, food supply chains are called to address the “diet–environment–health” trilemma in a sustainable and resilient manner. However, food system stakeholders are reluctant to act upon established protein sources such as meat to avoid potential public and industry-driven repercussions. To this effect, this study aims to understand the meat supply chain (SC) through systems thinking and propose innovative interventions to break this “cycle of inertia”.

This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the meat supply network system. Data was gathered through a critical literature synthesis, domain-expert interviews and a focus group engagement to understand the system’s underlying structure and inspire innovative interventions for sustainability.

The analysis revealed that six main sub-systems dictate the “cycle of inertia” in the meat food SC system, namely: (i) cultural, (ii) social, (iii) institutional, (iv) economic, (v) value chain and (vi) environmental. The Internet of Things and innovative strategies help promote sustainability and resilience across all the sub-systems.

The study findings demystify the structure of the meat food SC system and unveil the root causes of the “cycle of inertia” to suggest pertinent, innovative intervention strategies.

This research contributes to the SC management field by capitalising on interdisciplinary scientific evidence to address a food system challenge with significant socioeconomic and environmental implications.