Rositsa Ilieva
Director of Policy

Degree Info
PhD in Spatial Planning and Urban Development from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy and a graduate certificate in GIScience from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Bio
For more than a decade, Rositsa Ilieva's scholarly work has focused on examining the integration of just and sustainable food systems goals in the domains of urban policy, design, and planning from an international perspective. Rositsa is author of Urban Food Planning: Seeds of Transition in the Global North (Routledge, 2016). Her prior work has examined urban food policy in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
Publications
Ahmed, T., Shane, J., Ilieva, R.T., Reader, S.M., Aleong, C., Chu, C., Wong, H.Y., Brusche, D., Jiang, K., Edwards, A. and Lopez, D., 2024. “I cannot afford lunch”: How students’ narratives of food insecurity reveal difficulties and coping strategies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 48(6), pp.386-404.
Hawes, J.K., Goldstein, B.P., Newell, J.P., Dorr, E., Caputo, S., Fox-Kämper, R., Grard, B., Ilieva, R.T., Fargue-Lelièvre, A., Poniży, L., Schoen, V., Specht, K., and Cohen, N. 2024. Comparing the carbon footprints of urban and conventional agriculture. Nature Cities, 1(2), pp.164-173.
Ahmed, T., Ilieva, R.T., Clarke, A. and Wong, H.Y., 2023. Impact of a student-led food insecurity intervention on diverse community college students. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 18(1), pp.112-122.
Ahmed, T., Ilieva, R.T., Shane, J., Reader, S., Aleong, C., Wong, H.Y., Chu, C., Brusche, D., Jiang, K., Lopez, D. and Yan, A., 2023. A developing crisis in hunger: food insecurity within 3 public colleges before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 18(1), pp.1-20.
Fox-Kämper, R., Kirby, C. K., Specht, K., Cohen, N., Ilieva, R., Caputo, S., … & Béchet, B. (2023). The role of urban agriculture in food-energy-water nexus policies: Insights from Europe and the US. Landscape and Urban Planning, 239, 104848.
Fox-Kämper, R., Kirby, C.K., Specht, K., Cohen, N., Ilieva, R.T., Caputo, S., Schoen, V., Hawes, J.K., Ponizy, L. and Béchet, B., 2023. The role of urban agriculture in food-energy-water nexus policies: Insights from Europe and the US. Landscape and Urban Planning, 239, p.104848.
Ilieva, R. T., Fraser, K. T., & Cohen, N. (2023). From multiple streams to a torrent: A case study of food policymaking and innovations in New York during the COVID-19 emergency. Cities, 136, 104222. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275123000343
Ilieva, R.T., Fraser, K.T. and Cohen, N., 2023. From multiple streams to a torrent: A case study of food policymaking and innovations in New York during the COVID-19 emergency. Cities, 136, p.104222.
Fraser KT, Ilieva RT, Chong VP, Shulman E, Willingham C, Freudenberg N, and Cohen N. Increasing Community and Public Control and Ownership of New York City’s Food System. Policy Recommendations for a Stronger, Healthier, More Just, and Sustainable Food System in NYC. New York Food 2025, a collaboration of The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center; The Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy, Teachers College Columbia University; and, The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. March 2022
Fraser KT, Ilieva RT, James CJ, Chong VP, Shapiro S, Willingham C, Roberts C, and Freudenberg N. Use of an Environmental Scan to Assess Density, Content, and Variation of Predatory Food and Beverage Marketing in New York City. Health and Place, 2022.
Fraser KT, Vignola EF, Chong VP, Ng Y, Ilieva RT, Willingham C, Cohen N, and Freudenberg N. Ensuring All NYC Food Workers Have Safe Working Conditions, the Right to Organize, and Sufficient Pay and Benefits. New York Food 2025, a collaboration of The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center; The Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy, Teachers College Columbia University; and, The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. March 2022.
Fraser KT, Willingham C, Ilieva RT, Freudenberg N and Cohen N. Reducing Promotion and Ubiquity of Unhealthy Food in Community, Institutional, and Retail Settings to Reduce the Staggering Burden of Diet-Related Disease in NYC. Policy Recommendations for a Stronger, Healthier, More Just, and Sustainable Food System in NYC. New York Food 2025, a collaboration of The Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center; The Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy, Teachers College Columbia University; and, The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. March 2022.
Ilieva, R. T., Cohen, N., Israel, M., Specht, K., Fox-Kämper, R., Fargue-Lelièvre, A., … & Blythe, C. (2022). The socio-cultural benefits of urban agriculture: a review of the literature. Land, 11(5), 622.
Cohen, N., & Ilieva, R. T. (2021). Expanding the boundaries of food policy: the turn to equity in New York City. Food Policy, 103, 102012.
Kirby, C, Specht, K, Fox-Kamper, R, Cohen, N, Lelievre, A, Caputo, S, Hawes, J, Blythe, C, Ponizy, L, Ilieva, R, Schoen, V (2021). Differences in motivations and social impacts across urban agriculture types: Case studies in Europe and the US. Landscape and Urban Planning. Volume 212. August 2021.
Ilieva, R. Urban Food Planning: A New Frontier for City and Regenerative Food System Builders. In Duncan et al. (Eds.) Routledge Handbook of Sustainable and Regenerative Food Systems 2020. Available from: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Sustainable-and-Regenerative-Food-Systems/Duncan-Carolan-Wiskerke/p/book/9781138608047, ISBN 9781138608047
Cohen N, Ilieva R. Expanding the boundaries of food policy: The turn to equity in New York City. Food Policy. 2020. Available from: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0306919220302189 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.102012
Ilieva R, Willingham C, Cohen N, Morgan A, Freudenberg N. Food and the New York City Budget: A Review and Analysis of Municipal Budget Allocations in Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020. CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, 2019. Available from: https://www.cunyurbanfoodpolicy.org/news/2019/10/29/food-and-the-new-york-city-budget-a-review-and-analysis-of-municipal-budget-allocations-in-fiscal-years-2019-and-2020
Ilieva R, Ahmed T, Yan A. Hungry minds: Investigating the food insecurity of minority community college students. Journal of Public Affairs. 2019; 19(3):e1891. Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/pa.1891 DOI: 10.1002/pa.1891
Ilieva R, McPhearson T. Social-media data for urban sustainability. Nature Sustainability. 2018; 1(10):553-565. Available from: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0153-6 DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0153-6
Ilieva R, Hernandez A. Scaling-Up Sustainable Development Initiatives: A Comparative Case Study of Agri-Food System Innovations in Brazil, New York, and Senegal. Sustainability. 2018; 10(11):4057. Available from: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4057 DOI: 10.3390/su10114057
Hamstead Z, Fisher D, Ilieva R, Wood S, McPhearson T, Kremer P. Geolocated social media as a rapid indicator of park visitation and equitable park access. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. 2018 November; 72:38-50. Available from: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0198971517303538 DOI: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2018.01.007
Ilieva R. Urban Food Systems Strategies: A Promising Tool for Implementing the SDGs in Practice. Sustainability. 2017. 23; 9(10). Available from: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1707 DOI: 10.3390/su9101707
Ilieva R. 1 ed. Urban Food Planning: Seeds of Transition in the Global North, New York, NY: Routledge, 2016. Series: Routledge studies in Food Society and the Environment; Available from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315658650 DOI: 10.4324/9781315658650
Cohen N, Ilieva R. Transitioning the food system: A strategic practice management approach for cities. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 2015; 17:199-217. Available from: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2210422415000052 DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2015.01.003