Towards Sustainable and Sufficient City Region Food Systems: Reflections from the Case Study of Turin, Italy

Abstract

The City Region Food System (CRFS) approach has emerged in recent years as a framework for shaping urban food governance and policies that overcome the methodological cityism of approaches limited to urban territories defined by administrative boundaries. This article critically analyses the concept referring to the case study of the metropolitan city of Turin, Italy, as part of action research contributing to ongoing efforts to establish food policies. The discussion focuses on three dimensions: (1) the spatial definition of the city region; (2) the relation between the support of short and the re-assessment of long supply chains, with reference to a relational understanding of space; (3) the tensions between the CRFS as an analytical concept and a transformative framework. Results suggest that there is no linear path to define the spatial limits for a CRFS analysis and that a pragmatic approach can best serve policies; that long supply chains should not be ignored but integrated into local food policies; that there are contradictions in the transformative dimension of the CRFS literature when investigating the underlying sustainable development framework from a growth-critical perspective; and that separating the analytical more clearly from the normative dimension could make the discussion more productive.