The journey of food in a metropolitan city: The case of Ankara

Food is one of the most important elements necessary for the survival of human beings. The preservation, safety, supply, traceability, accessibility, and mapping of food have been the subject of research from past to present. The increasing population of the world has brought along various problems in terms of people's access to food. The main starting point of the research is the desire to explore the relationship between local, national, and global food supply chain elements in metropolitan areas, and the indirect processes from the production stage to the consumption stage, in the focus of food safety and spatial planning. This study aims to create a digital and dynamic food map with a strong spatial aspect for the Hacettepe District of Ankara. In this research, the data was obtained by document analysis, case study, observation, in-depth interview and questionnaire methods, and the research findings were analysed by descriptive analysis method. The study reveals the spatial connections from which national and global points the food service units (supermarket, greengrocer, public market, and grocer) purchase products (vegetables and fruits) from in the procurement process at the neighbourhood scale. According to the results of the research, Ankara's existing food supply network endangers the health of Ankara residents, increases the cost of food consumption, prepares the ground for food to be wasted on long journeys, uses the country's resources inefficiently, increases global/national/local vehicle traffic in all transportation modes, and affects the climate/nature negatively. For this reason, Ankara, as a metropolitan city, needs to establish a smarter food production, intermediation, and consumption network for itself on a global and national scale. Although Ankara has many opportunities, it grows many fruits and vegetables or obtains them from nearby cities in limited quantities but tends to bring food from thousands of kilometres away by very laborious, expensive, and unhealthy ways. Access to healthy food in a metropolis depends on the establishment of international spatial integration and rapid transportation/logistics infrastructure. Digital dynamic food maps can play an active role in determining national and international urban food policies and making spatial plans. This thesis proposes to determine the points where food will be produced, stored, and transferred in national and local spatial plans, to allocate open/closed areas that allow large quantities of vegetables and fruits to be produced in the city and its rural areas, and to establish a fast and powerful transportation/logistics infrastructure between neighbouring cities and the metropolis in every mode of transportation.