Technology for sustainable food culture in the city

Overview

Project status: In progress

Healthy and sustainable food is gaining more attention from consumers and industry. Yet many approaches to date are limited to information dissemination, advertisement or education. This collaboration will explore urban food practices - growing, cooking, eating - to support the well-being of people and the environment.

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Grantor

Australian Research Council Research Linkage Grant, LP100100232

Research team
QUT External collaborators
  • Dr Robert Imre, University of Newcastle, Australia (Chief Investigator)
  • Dr Shaun Lawson, University of Lincoln, UK (Partner Investigator)
  • Assoc. Prof. Eli Blevis, Indiana University, USA (Partner Investigator)
  • Prof. Younghui Kim, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea (Partner Investigator)
  • Dr Tad Hirsch, Intel Corp. (Partner Investigator)
Organisational unit
Lead unit Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation Other units
Research area
Sustainability and innovation in design
Keywords
urban informatics
 

Details

User centred design research will inform the development of entertaining, real-time, mobile and networked applications, engaging playful feedback to build motivation. The study will deliver usable and useful prototypes employing individual and group strategies to foster a food culture that employs new ways to produce, share and enjoy food that is green, healthy and fun.

Raising people's awareness of healthy and ecological food options with nutritional data and educational information does not foster a sustained practice towards a more environmentally friendly food culture.

This study seeks to develop a better understanding how to go beyond just informing and into supporting and sustaining action and change. Drawing on interaction design, ubiquitous computing and real- time information, the study will deliver research findings that inform viable new design approaches and information interfaces which will strengthen Australia's position to resolve the problems of obesity, malnutrition and ecological issues of mass food processing, and contribute to the sustainability of life in Australian cities.

The study will be carried out in:

  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Seoul, South Korea.

Projects


Publications and output

Choi, J. H.-j., & Blevis, E. (2012, in press). Advancing Design for Sustainable Food Cultures. In M. Foth, L. Forlano, C. Satchell & M. Gibbs (Eds.), From Social Butterfly to Engaged Citizen: Urban Informatics, Social Media, Ubiquitous Computing, and Mobile Technology to Support Citizen Engagement. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Choi, J. H.-j., & Foth, M. (2010, Oct 31). Lift@Weimar: Sustainable Interaction with Food, Technology, and the City. Workshop organisers at the MediaCity 2010 conference, Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany.

Choi, J. H.-j., & Blevis, E. (2010, Oct 16-20). HCI & Sustainable Food Culture: A Design Framework for Engagement. Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 112-117), Reykjavik, Iceland.

Choi, J. H.-j., Foth, M., Hearn, G., Blevis, E., & Hirsch, T. (2009, Nov 23-27). Hungry 24/7? HCI Design for Sustainable Food Culture. Workshop organisers at OZCHI 2009, The University of Melbourne, VIC.