Peri-urban agriculture and alternative food networks in Athens: Solidarity dynamics, spatial planning challenges and institutional reforms

The article discusses the role of alternative food networks (AFN) in local food supply, food sovereignty and the preservation of peri-urban agricultural production especially in metropolitan areas. Within a context of prolonged economic and financial crisis, a growing engagement of local public and national institutions in short food supply chains helps to revitalize the local economy, strengthen rural-urban linkages and contributes to sustainable development. The analysis focuses on how newly emerging AFNs reflect the contemporary dynamics of agriculture, food-chain and land use in rural peri-urban areas of Athens. By examining the links between the current economic, environmental, social and institutional challenges the discussion focuses on the potential of formal and informal civic practices to enhance revitalization of peri-urban agriculture and support institutional change policies through a more agro-ecological approach of the metropolitan food system. A mixed method approach was used, comprising qualitative and quantitative research as well as spatial data collection and mapping representations. The analysis shows that bottom-up claims for food security had a favorable impact on the promotion of sustainable food production, consumption and distribution systems and a transformative effect on food-related public policies and the institutional framework. Gradual legitimization of many informal alternative retail channels and self-production schemes in time of crises were able to strengthen the links between urban and peri-urban environment building agricultural ‘pockets’ of resilience to food crisis. However, poor land management and zoning control are the major constraints to sustainable agricultural production and farmers’ resilience in the Athens metropolitan area.