Guest Researcher
Zeynep Özçam has recently joined the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys), as a postdoctoral researcher supported by the TUBITAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Programme. The research project, “Connecting Agroecological Production to Urban Consumption through Alternative Food Networks: A Comparative Study from İzmir to Europe,” will benefit from the interdisciplinary research environment and networks of IRI THESys and will be supervised by Dr. Ina Säumel, Head of the MuLA group. The research focuses on agroecological production and alternative food networks, exploring how short food supply chains and alternative forms of food governance can strengthen connections between rural producers and urban consumers. Through a comparative study of İzmir and selected European cases, she investigates producer–consumer relations, governance structures, and the potential of alternative food networks to support more sustainable urban food systems.
She holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from Middle East Technical University (METU) and currently works at a part of City and Regional Planning Department at İzmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH). Her broader research interests lie at the intersection of urban planning and sustainability transitions, majorly focusing on sustainable food systems, agroecological transition, rural–urban linkages and participatory approaches. She has also been involved in several international and EU-funded research projects under IZTECH, addressing sustainable urban transformation, nature-based solutions, food systems, and participatory planning.
She will also be a part of the recently approved EU-funded RURALCOMMONS project, which will be coordinated by Dr. Ina Säumel and the MuLA group at IRI THESys. The project focuses on participatory commons and commoning practices, intangible cultural heritage, societal resilience, and agroecological transitions.
Research Interests
- Sustainable food systems
- Agroecology
- Alternative food networks (AFNs)
- Urban-rural linkages
Project
TÜBİTAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship – “Connecting Agroecological Production to Urban Consumption through Alternative Food Networks: A Comparative Study from İzmir to Europe”
Selected Publications
Özçam, Z. (2026). Advancing Circularity in Urban Food Systems: Exploring Alternative Food Practices in Karşıyaka, Izmir, in PlaNext–Next Generation Planning Journal (Special Issue).
Özçam, Z., Özkavaf-Şenalp, S. (2025). Food Question in Planning: Perspectives from Two Turkish Metropols, in Crisis, Conflict and Celebration: Ethnographic Studies of European Cities, Palgrave Macmillan.
Hazar, D., Özçam, Z. (2021). Wind Farm Conflicts on the Rural-Ecological Commons: The Case of Karaburun. Online Journal of Art and Design, 9(1).
Özçam, Z. (2019). The Tensions between Wind Energy and Rural Landscapes in Izmir. Meltem Journal of the Izmir Mediterranean Academy, 5, 60-78. DOI 10.32325/iaad.2019.3
Özçam, Z. (2018). Wind Farm Conflict: Rural Areas and Wind Energy-The Karaburun Experience. Journal of Planning, 28(Supp: 1), 15-24. DOI: 10.14744/planlama.2018.21043.
Social Media
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zeynep-özçam-b3244393
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zeynep-Oezcam?ev=hdr_xprf
