Carolyn Steel
Carolyn Steel (born in London) is a British architect, writer, and lecturer. She focuses on the relationship between food and the city, and on urban development. Her bestseller, The Hungry City, was published in 2008.
Carolyn Steel

Dorine Ruter · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Carolyn Steel
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Education
- University of Cambridge British School at Rome
- Occupation
- * Architect
- Born
- 1959 · London.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- architecture · urbanism · urban development · creative and professional writing
- Languages
- English
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Carolyn Steel (born in London) is a British architect, writer, and lecturer. She focuses on the relationship between food and the city, and on urban development. Her bestseller, The Hungry City, was published in 2008.
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wikidata · Q23783079 · wikipedia · Carolyn Steel
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Carolyn Steel • Birthplace — London, England • Education — University of Cambridge British School at Rome • Occupation — * Architect • writer • lecturer • Website — https: www.carolynsteel.com
Biography
Biography
Steel trained as an architect at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 1984. From 1995 to 1996 she was a student at the British School at Rome, where she studied the history of the city. After graduating, she began working as an architect, combining this with teaching and writing. She has taught at the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge, and London Metropolitan University. In 1989, she joined Kilburn Nightingale Architects, an architectural firm where she eventually became a principal. In 2008 she published the book De Hongerige Stad (English: Hungry City). With this book she won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction. The book describes, among other things, how food flows entered London and how they have developed over time. She criticizes the current way in which food is handled and indicates that it needs to be different. She also argues that cheap food does not exist. In the last chapter she discusses the Chinese eco-city Dongtan. In that chapter she introduces the concept of Sitopia. In her book she describes the food industry as a plaything of the market that is globalizing. In 2010 she became a visiting lecturer at the Wageningen University & Research. The following year the Dutch translation of her book Hungry City was published. Steel was a presenter of the television program One Foot in the Past. She was also an editor for the magazine Building Design.
Identity
Identity
Carolyn Steel is recorded as architect, writer, teacher, journalist and lecturer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1959
Carolyn Steel born at London.
2009
Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities (TED).
Books
• Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives (2008) • Sitopia: How Food Can Save the World (2020)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q23783079: Carolyn Steel
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Carolyn Steel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Carolyn Steel (2011) biography accompanying the announcement of her lecture Sir Patrick Geddes Lecture – Food and Cities. www.patrickgeddestrust.co.uk.
- 2.RSL Jerwood Awards for Non-Fiction.
- 3.De hongerige stad moet duurzaam gevoed. 21 March 2011.
- 4.De Hongerige Stad' Carolyn Steel, een bron van inspiratie. 14 February 2013.
- 5.Carolyn Steel. The Academy of Urbanism.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q23783079: Carolyn SteelWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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