Doctoral thesis: Kata Fodor examines sustainable diets – between the plate and the planet

Feeding affluent Western cities is a huge achievement, yet it has major negative consequences, including environmental harm, inadequate health outcomes, unfair trade practices, and unethical farming methods. In her doctoral thesis, Kata Fodor examines how more sustainable diets can be promoted through the design of environments, spaces, infrastructures, and cities.

Fodor approaches the topic from a design perspective and shows that food-related spaces are undergoing significant change. For example, supermarkets now feature salad bars, cooking classes, and cafés, while traditional checkout counters are being replaced by digital payment systems. According to Fodor, this transformation could be steered more deliberately toward the common good, for instance, by shortening food supply chains and reducing the use of single-use packaging.

The research also highlights how the design of food-related spaces is still partly guided by outdated models. The spatial design of kitchens continues to rely largely on the hundred-year-old model known as the Frankfurt kitchen. It was originally designed for large family households that shared meals prepared by a stay-at-home mother. Today, however, the majority of residents in cities like Helsinki live alone. Design should take societal changes better into account, whether related to housing, food supply chains, or waste management.

The thesis introduces a set of design principles and conceptual tools, making matters of urban food environments more tangible between the plate and the planet for policymakers and creative professionals alike.

Kata Fodors doctoral thesis was publicly defended at Aalto University 27.3.2026.

Text: Marjukka Puolakka

The article was originally published in Aalto University Magazine number 38 (September 2026).

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Kitchen think-over: Framing food system challenges through design in affluent Western cities