Frederic Wallet (p)

Jacopo Sforzi

Since the beginning of the 21st century, a growing number of local authorities have been involved in the definition and implementation of territorial food strategies. These approaches share the idea that the mobilization of the diversity of stakeholders in the areas concerned is an asset for expressing and mobilizing the actors of the territory beyond the public authorities and the representatives of agriculture. The definition of a collective strategy in favor of the reterritorialisation of the agri-food system and a transition towards more sustainable practices requires defining collective objectives and translating them into an action program. To do this, ad hoc governance mechanisms are increasingly being put in place. Among them, the model of food policy councils tends to spread.
The first FPC was established in 1982 in Knoxville Tennessee. FPC can be defined as collaborative, member-driven organizations that bring together stakeholders from the private, public, and community sectors (e.g., not-for-profits and charities) to explore opportunities for implementing integrated strategies to improving local and regional food systems. The key features of FPCs – which differentiate them from other food systems organizations – are: (1) their use of a cross-sector committee to guide decisions and activities; and, (2) their use of a systems approach to food (Schiff et al., 2022).
These FPCs can be likened to forums for debate and governance that place food as a common good for local communities who wish to seize food as a strategic dimension of the development of their territory.
Our communication therefore aims to analyze FPCs as governance mechanisms defining the rules of deliberation and governance of the resources necessary to respond to the issues associated with food in the territories.
After recalling what FPCs are and the history of their implementation, the communication will analyze to what extent these coordination mechanisms can be assimilated or distinguished from forms of governance of the commons. In a third part, the communication will illustrate the point from the example of two FPC in the South-West of France, that of Bordeaux and that of Ariege.

Leila Kebir (p), Jonathan Lenglet

Frederic Wallet

Geographers have recently pointed out an important limitation in the field of transition studies, citing an invisibilization of spatial realities as well as a "one-size-fits-all" finality that is ineffective for understanding the diversity of situations and mechanisms of transition. The valuational milieu approach is a proposal for overcoming these limitations. By capitalizing on the universal aspirations of transition, the latter articulate different resources of the territory in the search for solutions, often experimental, that can be developed and disseminated at the end of a process of legitimization generating a debate on the values mobilized. Such an approach makes it possible to move away from the classic methodological frame of reference centered on socio-technical systems to link them more directly to the relational, institutional, cultural and material dimensions that make up resources and territories, while taking into account the multiplicity of scales involved in this process. Our contribution aims to understand more precisely the importance of these resources in the development of these trajectories, from their distribution in space to the mechanisms allowing their mobilization. We also question the role of collective initiatives in this process, notably through the emerging question of the "new commons" as a modality of action and potential catalyst of transition dynamics at the territorial level. Indeed, the potential of the latter goes far beyond the initial Ostromian perspective and develops in a very diverse range of political and territorial initiatives. They question the foundations of the contemporary economic system and the social organization that results from it. The reflection that we propose is based on a crossing of experiences and results of different research projects on territorial development, more particularly in relation to the tourism and forestry sectors, in France and Switzerland.

Adam Polko (p), Artur Ochojski (p)

Leila Kebir

Urban commons and the idea of the city as a commons are increasingly the subject of urban research as a response to the challenges of modern cities, which goes beyond the solutions offered by the market and the state [Foster, Iaione 2022; Polko, Czornik, Ochojski 2021]. Urban commons differ from traditional commons, therefore there is a need to adapt the principles of governing the commons formulated by Elinor Ostrom [1990] to the urban context. The aim of the paper is to deepen the knowledge about the commoning process that leads to the co-production and co-consumption of urban commons by local communities. The work uses qualitative research methods based on interviews with representatives of urban commoners and observations of communities in action in two Polish cities. The interviews and observations focus on finding factors that determine the sustainability of urban commons. Among the aspects examined are the composition of the group, the level of openness and inclusiveness of commoners, innovation in sharing and pooling urban resources, as well as coexistence with local authorities. An important aspect of the study is to show that the context matters, and the way to achieve the best solutions is often experimentation. The results of the research are useful for both urban communities and local authorities that are making efforts to support and strengthen participatory governance.

References:
Foster S. R., Iaione C. (2022). Co-cities: Innovative Transitions Toward Just and Self-sustaining Communities. MIT Press.
Polko A. (2022). Ekonomia miejskich dóbr wspólnych. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Katowicach, Katowice.
Polko A., Czornik M., Ochojski A. (2021). Understanding the Urban Commons. Economics and Governance. Bogucki Wydanictwo Naukowe, Poznań.

Annalisa Spalazzi, Jacopo Sforzi (p)

Adam Polko

Enterprising Communities are social transformation practices developed by self-organised
groups of citizens. They arise in both rural and urban areas to meet place-based socio-
economic needs, implementing innovative solutions in goods and services provision through
a collective experiment in a defined place. Thanks to their governance model, Enterprising
Communities lead to the building of commons (De Angelis, 2017) or have a primary role in
governing them (Ostrom, 1990), with particular regard to marginalised contexts such as
transitioning rural areas. As different territories have diverse local factors at the basis of their
economic and social development (Coffey & Polèse, 1985), Enterprising Communities can
take on several community-led models. Covid-19 accelerated their role and is expected that
the current geopolitical, climate, and energy crises will further foster cooperation through
different Enterprising Communities models such as Community-based Cooperatives, Energy
Communities, and Collaboration Agreements. However, the dialogue between such
community-led models and policy-driven initiatives is still lacking, resulting in missed
opportunities for local economies to thrive.
Therefore, how do Enterprising Communities enable the socio-ecological transition in
marginal rural areas through a dynamic interaction between local resources and their policy-
driven initiatives?
The empirical analysis starts from the results of the project "Comunitá Intraprendenti”
(EURICSE, 2022), which mapped about 700 Enterprising Communities in Italy. Through a
mixed methods approach, the paper contributes to debates on the role of Enterprising
Community in the socio-ecological transition. Meanwhile, it provides policy guidance through
a system innovation perspective to integrate community-led models and policy-driven
initiatives in transitioning rural areas.