Beyond the Alternative Complex. The London Urban Food Strategy and Neoliberal Governance

Abstract

In this paper we will introduce the concept of Urban Food Strategies (UFSs) and describe the specific case of the city of London, the first European municipality to develop a governance experiment specifically on food. In particular, we will discuss the positioning of the London Food Strategy (LFS) within the alternative idea of urban development strategies and the mainstream, neoliberal entrepreneurial model by way of discourse analysis. This paper questions the nature of the LFS in relation to the introduction of the sustainable development dogma in London urban governance from the early 2000s to the recent 2012 Summer Olympics, declared as the “greenest games ever”. By way of conclusion, we will argue that alternative projects are not free of neoliberal influences, and even if they are, they will likely be the subject of strategic manipulation to counter balance other reckless institutional entrepreneurial projects.

Keywords

• urban food strategies
• London
• food policies
• Olympics
• neoliberal governance