IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i6p931-d100327.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Processes of Participation in the Development of Urban Food Strategies: A Comparative Assessment of Exeter and Eindhoven

Author

Listed:
  • Aniek Hebinck

    (Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE-106 91, Sweden
    Rural Sociology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands)

  • Daphne Page

    (Centre for Food Policy, City University London, London EC1V 0HB, UK)

Abstract

Urban food strategies are increasingly being used as means to address a multitude of challenges presented by food system failings. The use of participatory approaches has become common practice in the field of urban food systems planning. These approaches are believed to democratize, legitimize and increase effectiveness of addressing challenges. Despite these “promises”, they have also been viewed as problematic for being unbalanced and lacking accountability. This paper sets out to compare the creation and use of new participatory spaces in two initiatives in two European cities in their on-going attempts to formulate urban food strategies through multi-actor processes. This is explored through operationalisation of two key concepts essential to participatory approaches: participation and accountability. As such, the paper addresses how participatory processes for urban food strategies can be conceptualised when policy making involves the interplay of actors, knowledges and spaces. We conclude that within the two cases, ample attention is given to get a cross-section of the types of participants involved, while accountability is an aspect still under-represented. Based on the two cases, we argue that incorporation of accountability in particular will be instrumental in the development and implementation of more mature urban food strategies. However, it is essential for participatory processes to not completely break from more “traditional” policy processes, at risk of limiting progress in strategy development and deployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Aniek Hebinck & Daphne Page, 2017. "Processes of Participation in the Development of Urban Food Strategies: A Comparative Assessment of Exeter and Eindhoven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:931-:d:100327
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/6/931/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/6/931/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Hinrichs, 2014. "Transitions to sustainability: a change in thinking about food systems change?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(1), pages 143-155, March.
    2. Amerasinghe, Priyanie. & Cofie, Olufunke. & Larbi, T. O. & Drechsel, Pay., 2013. "Facilitating outcomes: multi-stakeholder processes for influencing policy change on urban agriculture in selected West African and South Asian cities," IWMI Research Reports H046246, International Water Management Institute.
    3. Amerasinghe, Priyanie & Cofie, Olufunke & Larbi, T. O. & Drechsel, Pay, 2013. "Facilitating outcomes: multi-stakeholder processes for influencing policy change on urban agriculture in selected West African and South Asian cities," IWMI Reports 201010, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Allan Cochrane & Kevin Ward, 2012. "Researching the Geographies of Policy Mobility: Confronting the Methodological Challenges," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(1), pages 5-12, January.
    5. Kameshwari Pothukuchi & Jerome Kaufman, 1999. "Placing the food system on the urban agenda: The role of municipal institutions in food systems planning," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 16(2), pages 213-224, June.
    6. Blair, Harry, 2000. "Participation and Accountability at the Periphery: Democratic Local Governance in Six Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 21-39, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jana Baldy, 2019. "Framing a Sustainable Local Food System—How Smaller Cities in Southern Germany Are Facing a New Policy Issue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, March.
    2. Hebinck, Aniek & Selomane, Odirilwe & Veen, Esther & de Vrieze, Anke & Hasnain, Saher & Sellberg, My & Sovová, Lucie & Thompson, Kyle & Vervoort, Joost & Wood, Amanda, 2020. "Exploring the transformative potential of urban food: a future research agenda," SocArXiv 4k6dh, Center for Open Science.
    3. Francesca Galli & Aniek Hebinck & Brídín Carroll, 2018. "Addressing food poverty in systems: governance of food assistance in three European countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1353-1370, December.
    4. Jana Baldy & Sylvia Kruse, 2019. "Food Democracy from the Top Down? State-Driven Participation Processes for Local Food System Transformations towards Sustainability," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 68-80.
    5. Rebecca Sandover, 2020. "Participatory Food Cities: Scholar Activism and the Co-Production of Food Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Coralie Gaudreau & Arbi Chouikh & Laurence Guillaumie & Daniel Forget & Stéphane Roche, 2024. "Assessing Sustainable Development Goal Alignment in Local Food Systems: Insights from an Automated Text Analysis of the Organizational Literature," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Sara A. L. Smaal & Joost Dessein & Barend J. Wind & Elke Rogge, 2021. "Social justice-oriented narratives in European urban food strategies: Bringing forward redistribution, recognition and representation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 709-727, September.
    8. Lara V. Sibbing & Jeroen J. L. Candel, 2021. "Realizing urban food policy: a discursive institutionalist analysis of Ede municipality," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(3), pages 571-582, June.
    9. Andreia Saavedra Cardoso & Tiago Domingos & Manuela Raposo De Magalhães & José De Melo-Abreu & Jorge Palma, 2017. "Mapping the Lisbon Potential Foodshed in Ribatejo e Oeste: A Suitability and Yield Model for Assessing the Potential for Localized Food Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-31, November.
    10. Adanella Rossi & Mario Coscarello & Davide Biolghini, 2021. "(Re)Commoning Food and Food Systems. The Contribution of Social Innovation from Solidarity Economy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-30, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Camillus Abawiera Wongnaa & Margaret Atosina Akuriba & Amissah Ebenezer & Karen Sakyibea Danquah & Danso Anthony Ofosu, 2019. "Profitability and constraints to urban exotic vegetable production systems in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana: a recipe for job creation," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh & Bellwood-Howard, Imogen, 2018. "Governance in urban and peri-urban vegetable farming in Tamale, Northern Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 205-214.
    3. Abu Elias Sarker & Faraha Nawaz, 2019. "Clientelism, Partyarchy and Democratic Backsliding: A Case Study of Local Government Elections in Bangladesh," South Asian Survey, , vol. 26(1), pages 70-91, March.
    4. Misra, Jaydev, 2008. "Centralization of Decentralized Governance - Evidence from West Bengal Panchayat," MPRA Paper 15718, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jun 2009.
    5. Ana Filipa Fonseca & Fabíola Polita & Lívia Madureira, 2024. "How Agroecological Transition Frameworks Are Reshaping Agroecology: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-15, November.
    6. Pratyusna Patnaik, 2005. "Affirmative Action and Political Participation: Elected Representatives in the Panchayats of Orissa," Working Papers 166, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    7. Sara A. L. Smaal & Joost Dessein & Barend J. Wind & Elke Rogge, 2021. "Social justice-oriented narratives in European urban food strategies: Bringing forward redistribution, recognition and representation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 709-727, September.
    8. Pigford, Ashlee-Ann E. & Hickey, Gordon M. & Klerkx, Laurens, 2018. "Beyond agricultural innovation systems? Exploring an agricultural innovation ecosystems approach for niche design and development in sustainability transitions," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 116-121.
    9. Kassis, Grâce & Bertrand, Nathalie, 2022. "Institutional changes in farmland governance emerging from a collective land preservation procedure upholding local food projects: Evidence from a French case study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    10. Artur José Sitoe & Seunghoo Lim, 2024. "Understanding citizens' perception of channels for participating in administration based on their motivation in an authoritarian regime: The case of Gaza Province, Mozambique," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 606-625, January.
    11. Mayka, Lindsay & Abbott, Jared, 2023. "Varieties of participatory institutions and interest intermediation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    12. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Bazilian, Morgan & Griffiths, Steve & Kim, Jinsoo & Foley, Aoife & Rooney, David, 2021. "Decarbonizing the food and beverages industry: A critical and systematic review of developments, sociotechnical systems and policy options," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    13. Utpal Kumar De & Christopher P. P. Shafuda, 2023. "Performance and Efficiency of Public Sector in Independent Namibia," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 12(2), pages 160-185, December.
    14. Aurora Castro Teixeira & Maria João Barros, 2014. "Local municipalities’ involvement in promoting the internationalisation of SMEs," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 29(1-2), pages 141-162, February.
    15. Ida Andersson & Laura James, 2018. "Altruism or entrepreneurialism? The co-evolution of green place branding and policy tourism in Växjö, Sweden," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(15), pages 3437-3453, November.
    16. Rana, Pushpendra & Chhatre, Ashwini, 2017. "Beyond committees: Hybrid forest governance for equity and sustainability," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 40-50.
    17. Shutian Zhou & Guofang Zhai & Yijun Shi, 2018. "What Drives the Rise of Metro Developments in China? Evidence from Nantong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    18. Sauvée, Loïc, 2021. "Editorial: Special track: European agrifood business in transition towards social responsibility," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(2), March.
    19. Catherine Ragasa & Cristina Alvarez-Mingote & Paul McNamara, 2024. "Bottom-Up Approaches and Decentralized Extension Structures for Improving Access to and Quality of Extension Services and Technology Adoption: Multi-level Analysis from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(5), pages 1093-1146, October.
    20. Tao Song & Weidong Liu & Zhigao Liu & Yeerken Wuzhati, 2019. "Policy Mobilities and the China Model: Pairing Aid Policy in Xinjiang," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-17, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:931-:d:100327. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.