The Hybrid Governance of Urban Food Movements

Undertaking a journey into the “hybrid governance” of urban food movements, this book offers an original and nuanced analysis of the urban milieu as epicentre of food activism and food governance. Through examples of food movements in the city-regions of Toronto and Brussels, the author highlights the critical governance tensions urban food initiatives experience as they develop in diverse ways and seek to change food systems and their related socio-political conditions. The author investigates urban food movements as they negotiate access to land in urban areas, build resilient food network organisations, and develop supportive policies and empowering institutions for urban food governance. Through the analysis of these tensions, the book effectively puts real-life challenges of urban food movements in the spotlight—challenges that are increasingly visible and pertinent in today’s converging climate, socio-political, and health crises. The author offers suggestions to improve alternative food practices and, ultimately, to design promising pathways to instigate food system change. 

Dr Alessandra Manganelli is an urban scholar with a background in urban planning and governance. Through her research on the hybrid governance of food movements (KULeuven, VUB) she has gained particular interest and expertise in urban food system governance and planning. Among other positions, she has been a consultant for the Committee of the Regions of the European Farm to Fork Strategy (Brussels). She currently works as a senior research associate in the Research Training School “Urban Future-Making” (HafenCity University, Hamburg), funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). Besides urban food governance, she deals with research related to experimental governance, socio-ecological justice, urban planning, and sustainability transitions.