During the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese researchers ran an online survey of Tokyo residents. They wanted to understand fresh food access in a megacity and how physically active city dwellers were. The results were published in npj Urban Sustainability, a Nature Portfolio journal.
Urban farming is common in Tokyo’s densely populated neighborhoods, where residents can walk or cycle to a farm for fresh greens and vegetables. The suburbs of Japanese cities have a distinctive mixed rural and urban landscape. That differs from the global trend toward vertical urban farming, where food is grown inside buildings or on rooftops with advanced technology. This feature of Japanese cities has created a distinctive local food system: residents can buy or grow fresh produce close to home.
There is no universal definition of “local” when it comes to the distance between food producers and consumers. In the United States it is under 400 miles (about 644 km), in Canada 50 km and in the European Union 20-100 km. In large Japanese cities, Tokyo included, the distance is a few kilometers or less, close enough to walk or bike.
The scientists looked at the links between urban farming, physical activity and food security during COVID-19. They surveyed more than 3,000 people between June 4 and 8, 2020.
Tokyo residents said small urban farms near pedestrian areas mattered more for fresh food than regular supermarkets, and that working on community garden plots did as much for their health as a walk in the park.
Earlier studies had focused on the location and number of food stores in a given neighborhood.
