Self-Sufficient Cities

Faculty Fellow: Kate Brown, Professor of Science, Technology, and Society

This project uses techniques of web development, data visualization, mapping, timelines, and database design to grapple with the puzzle that in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, 36 million people presently experience food insecurity, while a majority of Americans suffer from diet-related diseases.

Students will develop an online, interactive mapping and timeline project that tells the story of the rise and fall of urban communities that grew their own food in the 20th century United States. Using population and agricultural census documents, oral histories, sample household survey data, photos, maps, aerial photography, and satellite imagery, the project will create a platform to travel through time and space to see how changes in landscapes, land use, and infrastructure affect community well-being.

Black and white photograph of four children standing in front of a wall, with plants in the foreground and background.

Student Team

  • Alexis Ponce Castillo

  • Angelica Castillejos

  • Angelina Wu

  • Ayden Johnson

  • Emeka Echezona

  • Erastus Murungi

  • Erin Liu

  • Esther Faith Kinyanjui

  • Guilhermo Cutrim Costa

  • Irina Zoccolini

  • Justice Vidal

  • Karen Andre

  • Kateryna Morhun

  • Keilee Northcutt

  • Kelly Fang

  • Leanne Shen

  • Lucy Cai

  • Moises Trejo

  • Nadia Frieden

  • Nisha Nkya

  • Peihua Huang

  • Quincy Johnson

  • Raxel Gutierrez

  • Samantha York

  • Shaojia Lu

  • Shirlin Kingston

  • Sharaf Rashid

  • Wenqi Ding

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Faculty Fellowships