ir. D (Daniel) de Jong

With beautiful and good ideas and solutions we can make the world a better place and the food system more sustainable. But a solution in itself is not yet a change. Change ultimately happens through people. People with an interest, people in organizations, people who represent a sector. With the co-innovation approach, I involve people with interests in the route to a more sustainable world.

Since 2008 over half the people worldwide live in cities, and in the Netherlands it is more than 70 percent. Due to the rapid urbanization, the relationship between the inhabitants of cities and their surrounding areas has changed dramatically.

My vision for sustainable urban development is one that involves an essential relationship between town and countryside. Therefore I work within themes of:

Multifunctional agriculture: Agriculture in rural areas that uses the marketing of food and services such as recreation, health care, etc. to connect with consumers and users.

Urban agriculture: The role of food is seen as an integral part of creating a healthy, prosperous and sustainable city and its surrounding areas.