Mapping the invisible: interdimensional geographies of urban food insecurity

Abstract

This research proposes an interdimensional framework for analysing urban food insecurity from a spatial and systemic perspective. The study focuses on the Metropolitan City of Rome, a heterogeneous territory of 121 municipalities that combines dense urban centres, peri-urban transition zones, and rural agricultural areas, while displaying significant socioeconomic inequalities and infrastructural disparities. The framework integrates five analytical dimensions—economic food self-sufficiency, physical food self-sufficiency, healthy diet affordability, physical accessibility, and solidarity-based provisioning—drawing on georeferenced, administrative, and socioeconomic data. The multi-scalar analysis identifies “blacked-out food areas”, that is, territories where all dimensions of food access collapse simultaneously, revealing structural vulnerabilities that conventional indicators fail to capture. By shifting attention from emergency responses to systemic territorial diagnostics, the research develops a replicable model for place-based food policies. It also highlights the need for multi-level governance to reduce disparities, strengthen resilience, and rebuild inclusive food environments, where food access is understood not only as nutrition but as a component of people’s substantive freedoms.