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Between promise and practice Exploring the politics of urban food strategies in European cities Cretella, A.
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Citation for published version (APA): Cretella, A. (2019). Between promise and practice: Exploring the politics of urban food strategies in European cities.
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Download date:25 Sep 2021 strategies Cretella Practice food Agnese and urban cities in European politics of
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Exploring Promise Between
Between Promise and Practice: Exploring the politics of urban food strategies in European cities Agnese Cretella 2019 ISBN: 978-94-6380-328-1
Between Promise and Practice
Exploring the politics of urban food strategies in European cities
Agnese Cretella
Between Promise and Practice
Exploring the politics of urban food strategies in European cities
ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT
ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor
aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam
op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex
ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde commissie,
in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel
op dinsdag 14 mei 2019, te 14.00 uur
door Agnese Cretella
geboren te Pescara
Promotiecommissie:
Promotor: prof. dr. J. Grin Universiteit van Amsterdam
Copromotor: dr. A.M.C. Loeber Universiteit van Amsterdam
Overige leden:
prof. dr. E.H.M. Moors Universiteit Utrecht
prof dr. J.L. Uitermark Universiteit van Amsterdam
prof dr. R.K. Jaffe Universiteit van Amsterdam
dr. D.W. Laws Universiteit van Amsterdam
dr. F.R. Dinis de Araújo Avelino Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Faculteit der Maatschappij‐ en Gedragswetenschappen
Content
1 — Introduction 1
1.1 Problematizing food and the city 3
1.2 Research questions and thesis outline 12
2 — Urban Food Strategies. Exploring definitions and diffusion of European cities’ latest policy trend 15
2.1 Relevance 19
2.2 Urban Food Strategies. Emerging narratives 21
Urban 23
Food 24
Strategy 27
2.3 Filling the gaps: definition and diffusion 28
2.4 The origin of a trend 31
2.5 Discussion and concluding remarks 33
3 — Beyond the Alternative Complex. The London Urban Food Strategy and Neoliberal Governance 35
3.1 Introduction 39
3.2 Urban Food Strategies: Is an alternative model emerging? 41
3.3 Methodology 43
3.4 The shift to sustainable development in London’s governance 44
3.5 Introducing food in urban policy 45
3.6 Bipartisan convergence 48
3.7 “The greenest games ever” 52
3.8 Conclusions 54
4 — Food as creative city politics in the city of Rotterdam 57
4.1 Introduction: The drive towards urban food governance 61
4.2 Methodology 65
4.3 Rotterdam’s “creative” turn 66 4.4 Rotterdam’s “green” turn 69
4.5 Food and UA in the Sustainability Program 76
4.6 The Agenda Food and the City 80
4.7 A “new” Rotterdam, but for whom? 83
5 — The Pisa Food Plan. The challenge of bringing sustainable food to the institutional agenda 87
5.1 Introduction 91
5.2 Methodology 93
5.3 Setting the scene 97
5.4 The Pisa Food Plan 106
5.5 Conception of the project 111
5.5.1 International ‘best practices’ 111
5.5.2 Established network 113
5.5.3 Relevance to the context 114
5.6 Project interruption 115
5.6.1 Academic format 115
5.6.2 Organization/Broad objectives 117
5.6.3 Appropriation of movements instances 118
5.7 Discussion and concluding remarks 120
6 — Discussion and Conclusions 125
6.1 Urban food strategies and the ‘food governance’ trend 128
6.2 UFSs: “Alternative” or “neoliberal” policies? 132
6.3 Promoting the urban food policy agenda. The contested role of researchers, food movements and local institutions 141
References 147
Summary 165
Samenvatting 171
Acknowledgments 177
List of visual content
Graph 1: From Harris, Dougill et al. 2015, p.70: “Number of Publications by Year (Urban Food Systems); reproduced from Scopus search results accessed on February 2015”...... 4
Map 1: European distribution of UFSs ...... 30
Figure 1: The cover page of the “Investing in sustainable growth”, “Sustainability Program” (authorsʹ translation). City of Rotterdam — Gemeente Rotterdam (2011). 70
Figure 2: The cover page of the strategic document “Food & the city”, “Stimulating urban agriculture in and around Rotterdam” (authorsʹ translation). City of Rotterdam— Gemeente Rotterdam (2012)...... 71
Figure 3: Rendering of the project for the redevelopment of Schiebroek Zuid — courtesy of EXCEPT (2015)...... 78
Photo 1: The market organized in Rotterdam by “Rotterdamse Oogst”. Courtesy of Rotterdamse Oogst...... 72
Photo 2: Interior view of the Markthal, a residential and commercial building provided with an indoor market hall. The municipality is the institutional partner of the project. Photo by the authors...... 75
Photo 3: GAS distribution session taking place in the squat Newroz, May 2016. Picture by the author...... 102
Photo 4: Entrance of the squat Newroz. June 2014. Picture by the author...... 103
Photo 5: Urban agriculture at the squat Newroz. June 2014. Picture by the author. 103
Photo 6: Entrance of the local/organic shop La bottega della leopolda, June 2014. Picture by the author...... 105
Photo 7: Fruit and vegetables on display at the Bottega della leopolda, June 2014. Picture by the author...... 105
Photo 8: The ʺSanta Caterinaʺ farmers market in Pisa, June 2016. Picture by the author...... 106