Speakers
Description
The global agrifood system is one of the primary drivers of climate change, ecological disasters, and rural decline. These threats necessitate urgent action in climate change mitigation efforts, making it imperative to reconsider the role of urban planning in food provision. In the post-growth metabolism era, redefining the interconnections within the food chain—particularly between productive areas and food retailing spaces—is crucial to shortening the spatial distribution of food supply while maintaining a decentralized food distribution system. This prevents the concentration of the food chain in a few dominant actors. Such an approach not only reduces the overall "foodprint" but also fosters the development of inclusive foodscapes by improving access to healthy food for a broader segment of the population and generating new employment opportunities in rural areas.
This study integrates urban and territorial scales, exploring the connections between food production areas, producers' residences, and open municipal markets (OMM). Conducted within the framework of the project PECT Girona, Food Sustainable System (2021–2023), the research analyzes the food ecosystem comprising 105 OMM through:
a) GIS data analysis at a regional scale;
b) urban analysis of 60 selected OMM at an urban scale; and
c) statistical analysis of 300 interviews with market stallholders regarding the origin of food products and the interrelations between markets based on stallholder trade routes.
The analysis was developed based on an inductive hypothesis identifying eight food clusters, derived by cross-referencing socioeconomic and geographical factors. The key findings indicate that, particularly in the post-COVID period, the presence of local farmers and producers in OMM has declined, while food resellers have become more dominant. This shift directly impacts the origin of food products and the extent of productive land use under local management. Comparative case studies across mountain, coastal, and inland clusters reveal significant differences in OMM models and the productive capacities of these areas, as well as emerging patterns in the concentration of local farmers and OMM that support them.
A relational approach to this issue suggests that the OMM model can benefit both local consumers and farmers, aligning with the principles of degrowth metabolism: distribution, regeneration, and care. The study underscores that OMM, as public facilities, function as strategic urban planning tools for the relocalization of food chains, fostering spaces of sufficiency and care that enhance food system sustainability.
References
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Fava, N. and Carrasco, M. (2023) Els mercats no sedentaris a la província de Girona: una oportunitat per la transició alimentària? Report.
Gottero, E. (2019) Agrourbanism: Tools for governance and planning of agrarian landscape. Springer International Publishing.
McGreevy, S.R. et al. (2022) ‘Sustainable agrifood systems for a postgrowth world’, Nature Sustainability, 5, pp. 1011–1017.
Oteros-Rozas, E., Ravera, F. and García-Llorente, M. (2019) ‘How does agroecology contribute to the transitions towards socio-ecological sustainability?’, Sustainability, 11, p. 4372. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164372.
Specht, K., Bohn, K. and Simón-Rojo, M. (2022) ‘Planning food system transitions: Exploring spatial, citizen-driven, and agroecological approaches’, Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems, 7, e20029. https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20029.
Tornaghi, C. and Dehaene, M. (2020) ‘The prefigurative power of urban political agroecology: Rethinking the urbanisms of agroecological transitions for food system transformation’, Journal of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 44(5), pp. 594–610.
Worstell, J. and Green, J. (2017) ‘Eight qualities of resilient food systems: Toward a sustainability/resilience index’, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 7(3), pp. 23–41. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2017.073.001.
| Keywords | Post-growth urbanism; Open food municipal market; food system transition |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
