Building a movement for community-centered food systems

Disseminating Gehl’s thriving foodscapes approach

Gehl collaborates at a global scale to share our methodology, open-source tools, and common metrics for shaping healthier food environments. As part of a movement leveraging urban design for better health, we work across multiple platforms to build capacity and scale impact.

Through masterclasses and workshops, we equip city leaders, practitioners, and community organizations with skills and frameworks to assess food environments, implement interventions, and create lasting health impacts. These interactive sessions provide hands-on learning and knowledge exchange, and help build local capacity to design healthier cities. As part of this effort, Gehl and Cities for Better Health launched the Thriving Foodscapes Exhibition at the 2023 UIA conference in Copenhagen, to further showcase methodologies and impact stories.

To support data-driven decision-making, we have developed tools for shared metrics that combine quantitative, qualitative, and observational methods. These tools help cities analyze how food, people, and the built environment intersect — allowing them to track progress, measure impact, and guide future interventions.

To support practitioners everywhere, Cities for Better Health supported Gehl in the creation of the Thriving Foodscapes website: a hub for methods, case studies, and open-source tools. This platform enables urban change-makers to adopt best practices and contribute to a growing movement dedicated to designing health promoting urban areas.