Urban Food Strategy in the Making: Context, Conventions and Contestations

Abstract

Contemporary food systems face several paradoxes regarding equity and sustainability. Considering food production—an issue that simultaneously affects both the supply (production) and demand (consumption) sides—several cities have begun to implement new strategies, called Urban Food Policies. These approaches aim to address the various challenges presented by food system failures, while also involving the existing network of grassroot initiatives. For this reason, these have established Food Policy Councils, arenas where institutions can engage with supply chain actors and food activists, deciding through the processes of participatory democracy their Urban Food Strategies. This article investigates the evolution of a new Urban Food Strategy in a middle-sized Italian town, Trento. Despite a growing number of case studies discussing the promises and problematic aspects of UFS, empirical research and analysis tend to overlook the role of the context in which these processes are embedded and how the system of political, economic, cultural, and environmental opportunities weigh upon the success of these policies. The paper draws upon a multi-method qualitative approach combining in-depth interviews, document analysis, and direct observations of the construction process of an Urban Food Strategy for the city of Trento.

Power to the people? Food democracy initiatives’ contributions to democratic goods

“…The type of knowledge that is mentioned most often is experiential knowledge of food system actors and stakeholders (5 studies), such as farmers. Andreola et al ( 2021 ), for example, show how experiential knowledge of producer representatives, small-scale producers and food activists was used in heated debates about the potential of cooperative agricultural models in Trento’s food policy council. Scientific and cultural or indigenous knowledge were both observed to be included by two studies; policy or political knowledge in none of the studies.…”

“…Two studies reported the absence of such deliberation. Both in the cases of Trento (Andreola et al 2021 ) and Madrid (Zerbian and de Luis Romero 2021 ), interactions between stakeholders were found to lack depth and genuine exchange. Only two studies mentioned the presence of neutral process facilitators (Fridman and Lenters 2013 ; Calancie, Stritzinger, et al 2017a , b ).…”

Multiobjective Analysis of Open Areas Invaded by Forest With Open-Source Software: The Case of the Saturn Project

“…Because of these geographical features, farming has always been challenging, and terraces were built to solve the problem. Nowadays, agricultural machinery is frequently unsuitable for usage in such locations, therefore they are frequently abandoned in favour of flatter places (Andreola et al, 2021). More than 50% of Trento's Province surface area is covered by forests, while about 20% is in agricultural use.…”

“…More than 50% of Trento's Province surface area is covered by forests, while about 20% is in agricultural use. Residential areas cover about 7% of the surface and roads and infrastructure occupy 3% of Trento's territory (Andreola et al, 2021). The city of Trento, the capital of the region, is located in the Adige Valley.…”

Thriftlessness and Food Waste in Households in Poland With Particular Reference to the Podkarpackie Voivodeship

“…The authors of the paper tried to analyze the problem from a regional and local perspective with particular reference to households' food waste. Consumption and food waste grow especially with the lifestyle associated with urban areas, which are currently hosting more than half of the world's population and by 2050 will host more than two-thirds of the world's population (Andreola et al, 2021). Thriftlessness and Food Waste in Households in Poland… 77 Food is lost throughout the agri-food chain, from agricultural production post-harvest storage, processing, and consumption.…”