1
Research on the Relocalization of Food Production: the Development of Urban Agriculture in Amman
M A S T E R T H E S I S P O L I T I C A L S C I E N C E , I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E L A T I O N S
S u p e r v i s o r : d r . R o b i n P i s t o r i u s S e c o n d R e a d e r : d r . L e e S e y m o u r
UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM
Kim Otten
Urban Agriculture: Seed for Transition?
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ... 6
Abstract ... 7
List of Abbreviation and Acronyms ... 8
List of Tables and Figures ... 9
1. Introduction ... 11
1.1 Introduction & Relevance of the Research ... 11
1.2 Outline of the Research ... 15
1.3 Definitions of the Relevant Concepts ... 16
1.3.1 Sustainable Transition ... 16 1.3.2 Urban Agriculture ... 16 1.3.3 Food Security ... 18 1.3.4 Food Systems ... 19 1.3.5 Urban Governance ... 19 1.3.6 Sustainable Development ... 19
2
Theoretical Framework: Transition Theory and the Multi-‐level Perspective
21
2.1 Overview of Transition Theory ... 212.2 Multi-‐Level Perspective: Niches, Regimes and Landscapes ... 22
2.2.1 An Overview of The Multi-‐Level Perspective ... 23
2.2.2 Transitions through the Lens of the Multi-‐Level Perspective ... 24
2.2.3 The Multi-‐Level Perspective and Urban Agriculture ... 26
2.3 Governance in Transition Theory ... 28
2.4 Critiques to Transition Theory & the Multi-‐level Perspective ... 28
3
Research Design ... 32
3.1 Operationalization of the Research Question & Sub Questions ... 32
3.2 The Benefits and Limitations of Case Study Research ... 34
3.3 Semi-‐Structured Interviews ... 34
4
Development of Urban Agriculture: Relocalization of Food Systems ... 37
4.1 Landscape Pressures ... 37
4.1.1 Urbanizing Poverty in the World ... 37
4.1.2 Exogenous Shock on Landscape Level: The Food Crisis ... 39
4.1.3 The Window of Opportunity: Critique on the Global Food System ... 40
4.2 Using the Window of Opportunity ... 42
4.2.1 The Emergence of the Urban Agriculture Niche ... 42
4.2.2 Development towards Transition: Three Case Studies ... 43
4.3 Changes of Regime: National Adoption of Urban Agriculture ... 45
4.4 Changes in Landscapes: International Development of Urban Agriculture ... 46
4.5 Conclusion: Development of Local Food Systems ... 47
5
Case study: Relocalization of Food Production in Amman ... 50
5.1 International Developments: External Shocks to Jordan’s Food System ... 50
5.2 Landscape Pressures Create Window of Opportunity ... 53
5.3 Defining Stakeholders in the Regime & Urban Agriculture Niche in Amman ... 54
5.1.1 Commercial and Subsistence Farmers ... 55
5.1.2 Local, Provincial and National Governments ... 55
5.1.3 NGO’s & Community-‐Based Organizations ... 55
5.4 The Emergence of Urban Agriculture in Amman: Institutionalization within the Regime .... 56
5.5 Reasons for Actors within the Regime to Support Urban Agriculture ... 60
5.6 Perspectives of Niche Actors ... 63
5.8 Conclusion: Development towards Transition in Amman ... 67
6
Results & Conclusions ... 71
6.1 The Development of Urban Agriculture ... 71
6.2 Alternative Pathway Towards Transition ... 73
6.3 Urban Agriculture: Seed for Transition? ... 74
7
Recommendations for Further Research ... 79
7.1 Reflection on the Findings of the Research ... 79
7.2 Recommendations for Further Research ... 80
8
References ... 82
Appendixes ... 93
1. Table of Interviewees ... 93
2. List of Interview Questions ... 94
2.1 Questions for Commercial and Subsistence Farmers ... 94
2.2 Questions for NGO’s & Community Based Organizations ... 95
2.3 Questions for Local, Provincial and National Governments ... 98
Acknowledgments
I have always thought that the process of writing my master thesis would be the most difficult thing I would need to do during my studies. There have been some important obstacles that I needed to overcome. I would not have been able to succeed without the support of some people, who I would like to thank specifically.
I would like to thank my supervisor Robin Pistorius, for all his time and dedication. With his calmness and positive energy he gave me confidence and made me truly believe that a master thesis is not that scary as I thought it was. I would like to thank Lee Seymour for his time to read my thesis as a second-‐reader.
Special thanks goes to everybody who made my fieldwork in Jordan possible. First of all, I want to thank René van Veenhuizen for all the email conversations, the phone calls to discuss the topic of urban agriculture, the time to assist me with formulating research and interview questions and for bringing me into contact with key people in the field. I would like to thank Hesham Omari, who was so kind to introduce me to all stakeholders in Amman, for driving me around and taking care of me during my stay in Amman. I also like to thank Salwa Tawk, for her time to discuss and reflect on my findings of the case study and helping me with setting up contacts in Amman.
I would like to thank my friends Gerard Roemers and Just Dengerink to read my thesis and give me useful feedback. Although they were both extremely busy, they took the time to read this long piece of paper, something which I really appreciate.
Special thanks goes to my father, who helped me moving during the stressful month of December. I want to thank him for all his love and dedication and for all the weekends he constructed my new house to make the moving-‐process easy for me. I also would like to thank him for the inspiring talks to discuss to topic of my thesis and for reading my thesis.
Last but not least I want to thank my boyfriend Chandar van der Zande, for all the motivating talks when I did not know how to proceed, for his love and for his time to read my thesis in the last week of the process. I want to thank both my father and Chandar for their surprise to move part of my house during my week of fieldwork, so that when I came back from Jordan I could celebrate Christmas in my new house. This warm new house at Surinameplein gave me a great basis to start the busy writing process in January.
Abstract
The world is facing rapid processes of urbanization, increasing poverty in urban areas and accompanying food insecurity. The main literature shows that urban agriculture has developed in developing countries as a strategy for people to increase their food security. This thesis analyses the development of urban agriculture through the lens of transition theory and the multilevel perspective. In order to understand the mechanisms that are leading towards sustainable transition, a case study of the development of urban agriculture in Amman is made.
The recent civil wars in Syria and Iraq have had a big impact on Jordan’s food supply since Jordan depends heavily on food import. Amman has faced a rapid process of urbanization during the last decades, and prognoses show that its citizens will triple in the coming decade. This exemplifies the urgency of the question how the city deals with its food supply. Amman has been cited in the literature as one of the success stories when it comes to the institutionalization of urban agriculture. Nevertheless food security has not been the driving narrative of this development. The findings of this research show that the dominant narrative in Amman on urban agriculture has most similarities with the narrative that is found in industrialized nations; i.e. health, reconnection with nature and the enjoyment of the activity of farming. The main conclusion of this thesis argues that in contrast to the multi-‐level perspective on transitions, which holds the idea that sustainable transitions are driven by bottom-‐up initiatives, in the case of Amman the process developed through a top-‐down institutionalization of urban agriculture. However, no broad societal transition has happened, yet.
List of Abbreviation and Acronyms
AUB American University of Beirut CFP Cities Feeding People
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research CRFS City Region Food Systems
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FStT From Seed to Table
GAM Greater Amman Municipality
IDRC International Development Research Centre MENA Middle East and North Africa
MGD’s Millennium Development Goals MLP Multi-‐Level Perspective
MPAP Multi-‐stakeholder Policy and Action Planning MSF Multi-‐level Stakeholder platform
NGO’s Non-‐Governmental Organizations
RUAF Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture & Food Security SGUA Support Group on Urban Agriculture
UA Urban Agriculture UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UPA Urban and Peri-‐Urban Agriculture
WB World Bank
WFS World Food Summit
List of Tables and Figures
Figure 1. The Different Phases of a Transition 21 Figure 2. The Multi Level Perspective on Transitions 24 Figure 3. Urban and Rural Population of the World 37 Figure 4. Amount of People Living in Urban Areas in Different Continents 37 Figure 5. Expected Growth of the City Amman 50 Figure 6. Increase of Food Prices in Jordan 51 Figure 7. Illustration of the Relation between Stakeholders in Amman
Involved in UA, perspective of Transition Theory 56
Table 1. Forms of Urban Agriculture 16 Table 2. Amount of Interviewees per Sub-‐Category 55
Table 3. List of Interviewees 91
Kim Otten
1. Introduction
1.1
Introduction & Relevance of the Research
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has declared 2014 as the ‘International Year of Family Farming’ (FAO, 2014a). This shows the international attention on the importance of smallholder farming in order to feed the world population. Although the importance of rural agriculture should not be underestimated, the 21st century will be the age of the city.
Between 1999 and 2011, the world population grew from six billion to seven billion people, and it is expected that in 2025 the world population will reach eight billion people (UN, 2013). Most of the expected growth for the next decades is in developing countries. And more importantly, studies from the United Nations indicate that most of the expected growth will be in urban areas in these countries (UN, 2014: 2).1
At the same time we are dealing with more and more poverty in urban areas, which in turn has a huge impact on the issue of food security, specifically in the cities of the world (Tacoli, 2012: 4). Food insecurity is a striking issue in the world and with population mainly rising within cities this is a main focal area. Scholars are speaking of an ‘urbanization of poverty’ (Ravallion, 2001: 2). One of the main problems urban dwellers are facing is the lack of ‘food security’:
“… urban poverty tends to be fuelled by people migrating towards the cities in an attempt to escape the deprivations associated with rural livelihoods. Partly due to the rural decline, the world is urbanizing at a fast pace and it will not be long before a greater part of the developing country populations is living in large cities. Therefore, urban food security and its related problems should also be placed high on the agenda in the years to come.” (Jacques Diouf, Director-‐General of the United Nations FAO cited in FAO, 2008: 15).
In order to measure food insecurity in urban areas, accessibility of food is defined as the key factor (Crush, Hovorka & Tevera, 2011: 286). A rising demand and decreasing availability of food drives up prices, which results in less accessibility of food (Tacoli, Bukhari & Fisher, 2008: 3). Urban poor are the first to notice, because they spend the majority of their income on food (FAO, 2011b: 14). This
1 In 2050, it is expected that around 2.5 billion people will be added to the world’s urban population. 90% of
this increase will be in Africa and Asia (UN, 2014: 2).
research will focus on how access to food can be increased in order to ensure food security in urban areas. It sheds light on the development of urban agriculture. Smit and Nasr (1992) argue that urban agriculture can account for a transition of cities from only consuming food, towards being “resource-‐ conserving, health-‐improving, sustainable generators of these products” (Smit & Nasr, 1992: 141). Urban agriculture is one of the ‘hot topics’ in sustainable development literature at the moment. Studies have shown that urban agriculture can lead to more food security within city areas (see FAO, 2011a; van Veenhuizen, 2006: Mougeot, 2005; Bryld, 2003, Smit, Nasr & Ratta, 2001). Urban agriculture provides families with the possibility to grow and manage their own food production and consumption, and it can provide a source of income (FAO, 2008: 16). Urban agriculture shortens the food supply chain and increases consistent access to fresh and nutritional food (Crush, Hovorka & Tevera, 2011: 286).
The development of urban agriculture is growing all over the world (Masi et al., 2014). Because this thesis studies urban agriculture as a way to increase food security, it will focus on the development of urban agriculture in developing countries. The scale of urban agriculture in developing countries is far bigger then people expect it to be. In cities in countries in Sub-‐Saharan Africa around 10% of the urban population is active in some form of urban agriculture, which is estimated to be around eleven million people, in North-‐Africa and the Middle East (MENA) around six million people are engaged in small scale local food production and in South-‐Asia about eleven million urban dwellers are engaged in urban agriculture (FAO, 2007: 7-‐8). The creative ways of using spaces for production is also striking: “For instance, medicinal herbs on rooftops in Santiago, silkworms on balconies in old Delhi, pigeons in downtown Cairo, rabbits in Mexico’s City’s illegal settlements, and orchids in houses throughout Bangkok” (Smit & Nasr, 1992: 150). This illustrates the widespread development of urban agriculture.
One of the aims of this research is to understand why urban agriculture developed and how it could provide the ‘seed for transition’ towards a relocalization of food systems in urban areas as way to increase food security. There seems to be two main narratives on the growth of urban agriculture: one which explains the rise of urban agriculture in industrialized countries and another narrative which seems to explain the development of urban agriculture in developing countries. It has been argued that urban agriculture in industrialized countries grew to reconnect citizens to nature and produce healthier local and organic food (Bellows, Brown & Smit, 2011: 3-‐4). In developing countries, scholars argue that it developed out of ‘necessity and urgent need’ (Ellis & Sumberg, 1998; Maxwell, 1999; Mougeot, 2005). This research will deconstruct the main reasons for people to practice or
support urban agriculture and analyse which narratives are dominant in their motivation. This will contribute to understanding why and how urban agriculture developed.
In order to understand the mechanisms that could lead to the development of local food systems, this research will use transition theory. Within transition theory, the multi-‐level perspective (MLP) will be used in order to understand the complex interaction between different levels and actors who are influencing transitions in food production systems. The governance perspective of transition theory provides insight in how transitions are no longer only steered by traditional governments. It highlights the influence of civil society organizations and social actors on local policymaking and societal change. As such, the influence of changes in governance structure and the position of social actors will be explored in this study. In order to get insight into the mechanisms of the MLP of transition theory this research will conduct a case study of Amman, the capital of Jordan. The choice of the city of Amman as a case study will be justified in the following section.
The Middle East as a region is one of the largest importers of food. Most of the countries in the Middle East are very dry, which makes agriculture complicated (Tawk, 2013). Countries in the Middle East are highly dependent on the international food market. Rises in international food prices can have devastating effects on the accessibility and availability of food in this region (UN, 2011: 62). This is why issues of food security are particularly urgent in countries in the Middle East.
Jordan is especially an interesting case because the city of Amman experienced an unbelievable growth in the last decades (Potter et al., 2009: 81). Prognoses show that the amount of inhabitants of the city of Amman will triple in the next ten years: in the year 2025, the city population will have grown from the current two million to around six million citizens, which is about the amount of people living in the entire country at this moment (Haija & Potter, 2013: 4). On top of these challenges, Jordan’s international trade is affected by the recent conflicts in the Middle East. The decline in food imports has lead to a similar decline in the accessibility and availability of food (FAO, 2014d: 13). Prices of fruits and vegetables in the market increased significantly in Jordan (Jordan Department of Statistics, 2012). The rapid urbanization in combination with the low level of self-‐ sufficiency in food supply2 and rising food prices in Jordan makes the question how the city of
Amman deals with its food supply more striking.
This leads to the hypothesis that spill over effects of civil wars in neighbouring countries in the Middle East have a major impact on Jordan’s food system, and can increase the need for local food
production. As such, urban agriculture could have a lot of potential. This research will analyse the pathway of transition towards a sustainable relocalization of the food system in Amman. Transition theory holds the idea that crisis situations can reveal structural problems within certain systems. As a reaction to these developments, local actors can develop new technologies that are able to change certain food systems (Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 1). The literature shows that in many countries, urban agriculture started as a grassroots movement initiated by local actors out of basic necessity, which eventually led to changes in local food systems (see Bryld, 2003; Maxwell, 1999; Smit et all. 2001). Case studies from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ghana will be analysed to understand how the development of urban agriculture in Sub-‐Saharan Africa can be understood in the light of transition theory.
Because of rising food prices in Jordan one of the hypothesis of this research is that urban agriculture in Amman also started as a grassroots movement developed by people in order to increase their access to food. If this is the case or if urban agriculture developed as a reaction to other developments and out of different reasons will be explored in this thesis. Studies point out that Amman has been a leading city in institutionalizing urban agriculture, and can be seen as a successful case (World Future Council, 2013: 8). How this institutionalization of urban agriculture happened and to what extent it is possible to speak of transition towards a relocalization of the food system will be the main object of study of this thesis. This had led to the following research question:
To what extent can we speak of a relocalization of food production and a transition towards a prominent role of urban agriculture within the food system of Amman, and how can we explain this development?
In order to answer the main research question, the following sub-‐questions have been developed:
1) How can we understand sustainable transitions in food systems?
2) How can the development of urban agriculture as way to increase food security in urban areas be understood?
3) How can we understand the development of urban agriculture within the food system of Amman?
4) To what extent can we speak of a relocalization of food production within the food system of Amman?
1.2
Outline of the Research
This subparagraph will explain the structure of the thesis. First, the theoretical framework that guides the empirical research in this thesis will be developed in Chapter 2. It consists of a discussion of transition theory about environmental innovations and societal transitions, as developed by political scientists Frank Geels and John Grin (Geels, 2011; Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010). The Multi-‐Level Perspective (MLP) within transition theory will be discussed as a useful tool in the analysis of the transition towards a local resilient food system in Amman. This chapter will answer the first sub-‐ question of this research: How can we understand sustainable transitions in food systems?
Chapter 3 deals with the research design. It will operationalize the sub-‐questions, discuss the qualitative character of the research, and describe the methodological tools being used.
Chapter 4 will analyse the rise of urban agriculture in developing countries and the international narrative on urban agriculture from the perspective of transition theory. This chapter will contribute to finding an answer to the main research question providing insight in sub-‐question 2: How can the
development of urban agriculture as way to increase food security in urban areas be understood?
Chapter 5 consists of an analysis of the empirical data derived from field research in Amman. First, it starts with an introduction of the challenges the city is facing in its food system. Secondly, it will identify the present narrative on urban agriculture through an analysis of the motivations of people to practice and support urban agriculture. It will explore the process of development of urban agriculture in Amman. This chapter provides and answers to sub-‐question 3: How can we
understand the development of urban agriculture within the food system of Amman?
Chapter 6 analyses and summarizes the main results and conclusions from this research. This concluding chapter provides an answer to sub-‐question 4 and the main question of this research: To
what extent can we speak of a relocalization of food production and a transition towards a prominent role of urban agriculture within the food system of Amman, and how can we explain this development?
In Chapter 7 the findings of the research will be discussed and two recommendations for further research will be made.
The next paragraph will start with an overview of definitions of the main concepts used in this research.
1.3
Definitions of the Relevant Concepts
It is important to be clear about the definitions of certain concepts that are used in this research. The main concepts that need to be clarified are: sustainable transition; urban agriculture; food security; food systems; urban governance and sustainable development. The definitions used are the most basic and commonly used definitions. These definitions are the best fit for the purpose of the research.
1.3.1
Sustainable Transition
Sustainable transitions can be understood as radical transformations in society, from one system to another. Grin, Rotmans and Schot (2010) argue that the term radical does not refer to the speed of the process, but to the fact that it entails changes in different aspects of society (Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 11). According to Geels (2010), transitions can be seen as: “major changes in energy, transport, and agri-‐food systems” (2010: 495). Transitions entail changes in new technologies, policy, user practices and cultural meanings (Geels, 2010: 495). Chapter 2 will further describe the interactions between different mechanisms that are leading to transition. It will also provide the tools how to measure if a transition in a society occurred.
1.3.2
Urban Agriculture
What is mostly contested in debates about definitions on urban agriculture is the subject of boundaries of area land which can be called ‘urban’ and which cannot. The concept ‘peri-‐urban agriculture’ (UPA) has been introduced by the FAO, which also entails plots of land surrounding the city borders (de Zeeuw, Veenhuizen & Dubbeling, 2011: 1). This research will focus mainly on ‘urban agriculture’ (UA). The most basic and simple definition of urban agriculture will be used. In this definition urban agriculture can be understood as: “the growing of plants and the raising of animals for food and other uses within and around cities and towns” (de Bon; Parrot & Moustier, 2010: 21). Is it important to emphasize that there exist different forms of urban agriculture. The different typologies of urban agriculture can be distinguished according to four different socio-‐economic profiles, as described by de Bon, Moustier & Laurent (2010). First, there are micro-‐scale urban farmers for who urban agriculture is used for basic food supply at household level. They mostly have a small backyard, a balcony or a rooftop for farming. Second are the small-‐scale farmers who also farm as subsistence strategy, but because of their access to a larger plot of land next to their house they are in the possibility to grow multiple food crops. Third are the commercial farmers who are involved in urban farming in order to earn some income for their families. Last are the actors that are engaged in urban agriculture by earning money and who are able to invest in large-‐scale farming and
modes of production belong: the ‘entrepreneurs’ (de Bon, Parrot & Moustier, 2010: 23). The different forms of urban agriculture are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Different forms of Urban Agriculture
Category Micro-‐scale Urban Farming Small-‐scale Urban Farming Commercial Urban Farming Large-‐scale Urban Farming Reasons for UA Household
consumption
Household consumption
Household consumption & for the local market Household consumption, local market, international markets
Area for UA Small backyards, rooftops, balconies
Gardens,
backyards, space around the house
Piece of land Larger piece of land,
greenhouses
Crops Herbs, some
fruits in pots
Herbs, fresh vegetables, berries/fruits, medicinal herbs Mainly fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, animals Large-‐scale production of vegetables and fruits, raising livestock.
(Source: based on de Bon, Moustier & Laurent, 2010: 23 & Dubbeling, de Zeeuw & van Veenhuizen, 2010: 47)
Because this research focuses on urban agriculture as a strategy to provide access to food in order to increase food security for people it will mainly look at the first two categories of urban farming: micro and macro urban farming.
The choice to focus on the first two categories has some implications for this research. Micro-‐ and small-‐scale urban farming will not be able to radically replace the current food system, since its contribution to food production is relatively small. However, this research does not want to stress that urban agriculture can supply the basic food consumption of citizens for 100%. It aims to discuss the possible transition towards a reconnection of agriculture within the city. Micro-‐ and small-‐scale urban agriculture does show a trend of changes in policy, technology, user practices and cultural meanings, which are the main measures for sustainable transition.
1.3.3
Food Security
In 1996, the World Food Summit (WFS) defined food security as: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, sage and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 1996).
During the WFS four main dimension of food security were developed: availability, access, stability and utilization (FAO, 2014c: 13).
-‐ Food availability: that there is sufficient quantity and good quality of food available. -‐ Food access: that people have sufficient resources and physical access to obtain food.
-‐ Food stability: that food access and availability is stable: no large impact of sudden shocks such as food price volatility or political instability.
-‐ Food utilization: that people have the ability to use food in a healthy way: access to water and sanitation to prevent nutrition failures that cause health problems (FAO, 2014c: 13). This research focuses on the second pillar of food security: the necessity to increase food access. It has been argued by Crush, Hovorka and Tevera (2011) that lack of food access is the main issue in urban areas (Crush, Hovorka & Tevera, 2011: 286).
The concept of food security has been criticized by social movements like La Via Campesina3, which
argues that food sovereignty is needed, not only food security. Food sovereignty has been defined as: “the right of people to define their own food and agriculture” (Winfuhr and Jonsén, cited in Holt Giménez & Shattuck, 2011: 128). Food sovereignty entails the idea that enabling access to food for people is not enough, people should have the right of to own control of food production and resources (Holt Giménez & Shattuck, 2011: 128).
Because of the scope of this research the issue of food sovereignty will not be further discussed. The dominant narrative on urban agriculture entails the concept of food security (see Smit et all. 2001; Mougeot, 2005; Bryld, 2003; Drechsel, 2001; van Veenhuizen, 2006). This is why food security turns out to be the most relevant concept in this research. If urban agriculture can lead to food sovereignty instead of food security this would be an interesting topic for further research in the future.
3 La Via Campesina is an international peasant’s movement that promotes sustainable small-‐scale agriculture
1.3.4
Food Systems
Food systems can be defined as: “the organization of multiple processes and transformations of food into several primary sectors that cohere around the practices of producing, processing, distributing, marketing, consuming, and disposing of food” (Potteiger, 2013: 264). The interaction between these different parts of a food system is part of research on food systems. Food systems are also part of infrastructures and other systems in society, such as transportation, water and energy (Potteiger, 2013: 264). Most relevant to this research is the producing part of food systems, as urban agriculture is a form of food production.
1.3.5
Urban Governance
Urban governance is a concept developed because studies have indicated that cities are gaining influence on the international stage. It has been argued that the power of the traditional nation state is decreasing (Sellers, 2003: 19). Within cities, a network of different actors constitutes urban governance structures. The United Nations used the following definition: “urban governance can be defined as the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, plan and manage the common affairs of the city” (UN Habitat, 2003). Urban governance will further be discussed in Paragraph 2.3.
1.3.6
Sustainable Development
The definition of sustainable development has been discussed frequently (see Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010; Redclift, 2005; Mebratu, 1998). However, the most commonly and frequently cited definition is from the Brundtland Report: Our Common Future.4 The report defined sustainable
development as: “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN, 2010: 6). Because this is the most commonly used definition, this research will use its study of transitions towards sustainable development.
4 The Brundtland Report was developed by the World Commission on Environment and Development and was
2
Theoretical Framework: Transition Theory and the Multi-‐
level Perspective
This chapter will explain the basics of transition theory, and apply it to our understanding of the development of urban agriculture. In this way, this chapter will provide an answer to the first sub-‐ question: how can we understand sustainable transitions in food systems?
First, paragraph 2.1 will shortly discuss the importance of transition theory in understanding sustainable transitions in societies. Secondly, in order to understand the complex interaction between different levels that are contributing to transitions, this research will make use of the multi-‐ level perspective (MLP). Paragraph 2.2 will start with an extensive elaboration on the MLP. Third, attention will be given in paragraph 2.3 to the governance perspective of transitions. Fourth, paragraph 2.4 will highlight the main critiques on transition theory. This part is of specific interest to this research paper, because one of the main arguments of this thesis will contribute to this critique.
2.1
Overview of Transition Theory
Transition theory can be used in order to study radical transformations of cities or societies towards a more sustainable future. When a city faces problems in climate, energy, food, water or health issues, this can lead to a crisis situation. A crisis situation can cause societal tensions, political unrest and riots that could trigger transition (Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 1). Transitions are fundamental transformations in society where new ideas, discourses, products, technologies and infrastructures are developed (Spaargaren, Oosterveer & Loeber, 2012: 6). These radical and structural transitions in complex systems in societies are the subject of study of transition theory. This research studies transition towards local food systems. It looks at how new ideas; discourses5 and technologies of
food production are part of a relocalization of food systems. This is why transition theory is used as a methodological and theoretical framework for the empirical analysis.
Transition theory takes the development of socio-‐technological innovations as starting point for transitions. It holds the idea that social actors will start to develop new technological innovations when cracks are appearing in existing technological systems. Transition theory studies how “materials, social and cultural changes interact in transitions towards sustainable development”
5 The concepts ‘discourse’ and ‘narrative’ are used interchangeably in these thesis to describe: “an ensemble
of ideas, concepts and categories through which meaning is given to social and physical phenomena, and which is produced and reproduced through an identifiable set of practices” (Hajer & Versteeg, 2005: 175).
(Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 13). This research will not discuss the details of technological innovations in urban agricultural materials, but focuses on the social and cultural changes in society. Grin, Rotmans and Schot (2010) describe the different phases through which transitions develop: (i) the ‘pre-‐development phase’, in which first signs of systems change are happening but are not yet visible; (ii) the ‘take-‐off phase’, when momentum is there for structural change; (iii) the ‘acceleration phase’, where the structural changes are appearing; and (iv) the ‘stabilization phase’, where a dynamic and stable equilibrium is established (Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 126). These different phases are illustrated in Figure 1: the S-‐curve of the four phases of a transition. In which ´phase´ the development of a local food system of Amman is will be examined in this research.
Figure 1: The Different Phases of a Transition
Source: Grin, Rotmans & Schot, 2010: 130
This research studies the transition of food systems. It will be discussed whether there is a transition towards a relocalization of food production within the food system of Amman. The Multi-‐Level Perspective (MLP) is a useful analytical tool to study the transformation of food systems in Amman. It will be used to give an answer to sub-‐question 1: how can we understand sustainable transitions in food systems?
2.2
Multi-‐Level Perspective: Niches, Regimes and Landscapes
This paragraph will start with an overview of the Multi-‐Level Perspective (MLP), after that the interaction between the different levels that lead to transitions will be described and lastly the MLP will be connected to urban agriculture.
2.2.1
An Overview of The Multi-‐Level Perspective
The MLP looks to processes of transition at three different levels: “innovate practices (niches), structure (the regime), and long-‐term, exogenous trends (the landscape)” (Grin, 2011:2). The dialectic relationship between macro-‐level structures and agents on micro-‐level are studied by the MLP (Seyfang & Haxeltine, 2010: 384). Interaction between these three different levels is necessary for the emergence of transitions in society (Grin, 2011: 2). This research focuses on the interplay between practices at micro level: people who are practicing urban agriculture; the meso level structures of the food system in Amman and the influence of international development at landscape level.
Practices at niche level are innovations at micro-‐level, initiated by individuals, and exemplify the impact of agency on transitions. Niches are consisting of networks, people and organizations. The relations and structures are not as fixed as on regime level (Grin, 2011:27). Niches are often emerging as innovative solutions due to local problems in existing technological systems (Geels & Deuten, 2006: 266). Niches are novel practices at local level that are not yet institutionalized. An enabling environment is necessary for niche innovations to grow. Local governments can create this enabling environment by protecting niche innovations in their ´experimental phase´ against market competition, through policy measures like subsidies (Amstel, van der Pijl & Spaargaren, 2012: 182). A regime can be understood as a macro-‐level structure, which is less easy to change because of its slower dynamics and less flexibility then niches. A regime emerges when values and norms are being institutionalized and people internalize them and act upon them. “A regime thus reflects the institutionalization of a particular mode of socio-‐material ordering, of a shared set of enabling and constraining ‘rules in use’ governing and guiding various practices from which they initially emerged” (Roep & Wiskerke, 2012b: 207). Regimes are institutionalized and contain established rules, regulations and practices. Regimes can exist of organizations, networks, policy makers and interest groups. The relations between these different actors are an important part of the regimes (Amstel, van der Pijl & Spaargaren, 2012: 182).
Trends on macro-‐level in the landscape can be described as the international context, or the dynamic environment that constitutes regime and niche levels (Davids & de Olde, 2014: 2). Landscapes consist of discourses in which social actors are functioning and acting. Landscapes are surrounding human agents and social actors are unable to influence landscapes directly. Landscapes influence existing regimes and niche practices (Amstel, van der Pijl & Spaargaren, 2012: 182).
