Disentangling metropolis-city relationships in the governance of sustainability transitions: An in-depth exploration of the case of Rouen, France

Abstract

Urban agriculture, defined as a system of growing, processing and distributing food in cities, is currently emerging as a sustainable solution for ensuring food autonomy and resilience, particularly with rapid population growth and urbanization. This article aims to explore a multi-level governance system, through the hypothesis that two levels of governance (Metropolis and City of Rouen - France) effectively complement each other in the domain of urban agriculture, using institutional consultation mechanisms, such as coordination committees and regular meetings with project leaders, while monitoring urban agricultural projects, coordinating initiatives, specifying responsibilities and resolving disagreements. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted, to gain a better understanding of their actual achievements and future goals. The results show that many sim- ilarities exist relating to social aspects and education, consumption of fresh products and the desire to ensure the long-term viability of urban projects. However, many differences were highlighted, such as the selection of urban agricultural projects, where the metropolis is less strict than the city in terms of plot size and soil analysis re- quirements. This paper is recommended as a basis for future research to maximize the implementation these projects, toward more sustainable cities, and eventually in other institutional contexts.