IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v55y2023i7p1670-1689.html

‘We’re just an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’: Strategies and (a)politics of change in Berlin's community food spaces

Author

Listed:
  • Ophélie Véron

Abstract

The benefits of community-based, grassroots food practices, such as community gardens or kitchens, are widely acknowledged. However, they have also been shown to support neoliberal and exclusionary dynamics. This paper examines this contradiction on the ground by unpacking the processes and mechanisms through which these initiatives reproduce, reinforce or challenge social inequities and injustices in the city. It suggests the concept of community food space to look at the articulation of practices and intentions within these groups, and highlight emancipatory practices situated around food rather than simply about food. The paper draws upon an ongoing militant ethnography into community food spaces in Berlin, Germany. Exploring the complex and diverse landscape of Berlin food activism, it illuminates the ways in which food may be used to perpetuate unjust social configurations or, on the contrary, to advance social justice at both local and structural levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Ophélie Véron, 2023. "‘We’re just an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’: Strategies and (a)politics of change in Berlin's community food spaces," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(7), pages 1670-1689, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:55:y:2023:i:7:p:1670-1689
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X231158101
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X231158101
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X231158101?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebecca St Clair & Michael Hardman & Richard P Armitage & Graeme Sherriff, 2020. "Urban Agriculture in shared spaces: The difficulties with collaboration in an age of austerity," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 350-365, February.
    2. Beckie, Mary & Bogdan, Eva, 2010. "Planting Roots: Urban Agriculture for Senior Immigrants," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 1(2).
    3. Gail Feenstra, 2002. "Creating space for sustainable food systems: Lessons from the field," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 19(2), pages 99-106, June.
    4. Middlemiss, Lucie & Parrish, Bradley D., 2010. "Building capacity for low-carbon communities: The role of grassroots initiatives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7559-7566, December.
    5. Walker, Gordon, 2008. "What are the barriers and incentives for community-owned means of energy production and use?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4401-4405, December.
    6. Patricia Allen, 2010. "Realizing justice in local food systems," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 3(2), pages 295-308.
    7. Marit Rosol, 2020. "On the Significance of Alternative Economic Practices: Reconceptualizing Alterity in Alternative Food Networks," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 96(1), pages 52-76, January.
    8. Giorgos Kallis & Hug March, 2015. "Imaginaries of Hope: The Utopianism of Degrowth," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 105(2), pages 360-368, March.
    9. Anna R. Davies & Agnese Cretella & Vivien Franck, 2019. "Food Sharing Initiatives and Food Democracy: Practice and Policy in Three European Cities," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 8-20.
    10. Jonathan Murdoch & Terry Marsden & Jo Banks, 2000. "Quality, Nature, and Embeddedness: Some Theoretical Considerations in the Context of the Food Sector," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(2), pages 107-125, April.
    11. Nathan McClintock & Christiana Miewald & Eugene McCann, 2021. "GOVERNING URBAN AGRICULTURE: Formalization, Resistance and Re‐visioning in Two ‘Green’ Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 498-518, May.
    12. Sarah Dooling, 2009. "Ecological Gentrification: A Research Agenda Exploring Justice in the City," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 621-639, September.
    13. Anna R. Davies & Agnese Cretella & Vivien Franck, 2019. "Food Sharing Initiatives and Food Democracy: Practice and Policy in Three European Cities," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 8-20.
    14. Hoover, Brandon, 2013. "White Spaces in Black and Latino Places: Urban Agriculture and Food Sovereignty," Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, Center for Transformative Action, Cornell University, vol. 3(4).
    15. Andrej Holm & Armin Kuhn, 2011. "Squatting and Urban Renewal: The Interaction of Squatter Movements and Strategies of Urban Restructuring in Berlin," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 644-658, May.
    16. Gavin Brown & Peter Kraftl & Jenny Pickerill & Caroline Upton, 2012. "Holding the Future Together: Towards a Theorisation of the Spaces and Times of Transition," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(7), pages 1607-1623, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lea Loretta Zentgraf, 2025. "How Democratic Is Just Enough? Critical Reflections on the Transformative Potential of the Berlin Food Policy Council," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10.
    2. Zhao, Dong-Xue & He, Bao-Jie & Johnson, Christine & Mou, Ben, 2015. "Social problems of green buildings: From the humanistic needs to social acceptance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1594-1609.
    3. Brummer, Vasco, 2018. "Community energy – benefits and barriers: A comparative literature review of Community Energy in the UK, Germany and the USA, the benefits it provides for society and the barriers it faces," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 187-196.
    4. Gerald Taylor Aiken, 2017. "The politics of community: Togetherness, transition and post-politics," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(10), pages 2383-2401, October.
    5. Pohlmann, Angela, 2019. "Dismantling the relationship between energy innovations and power," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Seyfang, Gill & Park, Jung Jin & Smith, Adrian, 2013. "A thousand flowers blooming? An examination of community energy in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 977-989.
    7. Didi van Doren & Peter PJ Driessen & Hens Runhaar & Mendel Giezen, 2018. "Scaling-up low-carbon urban initiatives: Towards a better understanding," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(1), pages 175-194, January.
    8. Florian Hanke & Jens Lowitzsch, 2020. "Empowering Vulnerable Consumers to Join Renewable Energy Communities—Towards an Inclusive Design of the Clean Energy Package," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-27, April.
    9. Beau Warbroek & Thomas Hoppe & Frans Coenen & Hans Bressers, 2018. "The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-28, July.
    10. Matthew M. Mars & Hope Jensen Schau, 2017. "Institutional entrepreneurship and the negotiation and blending of multiple logics in the Southern Arizona local food system," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 407-422, June.
    11. Aintzira Oñederra-Aramendi & Mirene Begiristain-Zubillaga & Mamen Cuellar-Padilla, 2023. "Characterisation of food governance for alternative and sustainable food systems: a systematic review," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-32, December.
    12. Hallie Eakin & John Patrick Connors & Christopher Wharton & Farryl Bertmann & Angela Xiong & Jared Stoltzfus, 2017. "Identifying attributes of food system sustainability: emerging themes and consensus," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 757-773, September.
    13. Zhenzhong Si & Theresa Schumilas & Steffanie Scott, 2015. "Characterizing alternative food networks in China," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 299-313, June.
    14. Mari Martiskainen, 2016. "The role of community leadership in the development of grassroots innovations," SPRU Working Paper Series 2016-10, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    15. Linn Axelsson, 2026. "Harvesting labour justice: Interrogating the social implications of sustainable transformation efforts in Sweden’s forest berry industry," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 58(1), pages 76-91, February.
    16. Bomberg, Elizabeth & McEwen, Nicola, 2012. "Mobilizing community energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 435-444.
    17. Basil Bornemann & Sabine Weiland, 2019. "Editorial: New Perspectives on Food Democracy," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 1-7.
    18. Safia Amirzai & Vinh Sum Chau, 2024. "Alternative Food Networks in Afghanistan: The Role of Collaborative Agribusiness in Food Security," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2024(2), pages 167-187.
    19. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Baležentis & Artiom Volkov & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Justas Streimikis, 2021. "Barriers and Drivers of Renewable Energy Penetration in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-28, October.
    20. Rydin, Yvonne & Turcu, Catalina, 2019. "Revisiting urban energy initiatives in the UK: Declining local capacity in a shifting policy context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 653-660.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:envira:v:55:y:2023:i:7:p:1670-1689. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.