Supporting the transformation of urban food systems: The food network of the city of Dortmund

Urbanization is increasing worldwide and presenting cities with diverse challenges such as access to sufficient, adequate, affordable, nutritious, and safe food for all their residents, and to build sustainable food systems. Sustainable urban food systems have the potential to tackle these challenges by involving multiple actors from state, economy, and civil society in its governance. However, the actors and their relationships in urban food system have been rarely investigated so far. To fill this gap, this paper focuses on analyzing the food system of the city of Dortmund (Germany) and its transformation, as an entry point to understanding actors’ relations in urban food systems. Using the participatory Net‐Map tool, we identify the actors and their roles, as well as their relationships. Furthermore, we examine the obstacles for urban food system transformation. It is evidenced that collaboration between civil society and local government actors significantly guides the urban food system, and that the integration of the ‘food’ theme into municipal policy serves as a key factor in bridging bottom‐up and top‐down processes. The central role of the Food Policy Council in Dortmund shows its potential for connecting food‐relevant actors. Key factors for strengthening the urban food system are particularly seen in the areas of coordination, financing, political participation, visibility, and networking. Overall, this research contributes to the fields of transformation, urban, and food studies by providing insights into actor dynamics within the food system and identifying specific approaches to promote and strengthen the transformation of urban food systems.