Cities in the loop: A social science perspective on the role of cities in food system circularity

The transition to a circular food system is crucial to address the environmental pressures, inefficiencies, and socioeconomic inequalities inherent in “linear” food systems. Cities as dense population hubs with substantial food consumption and waste generation, possess considerable—though largely untapped—potential in steering food provisioning systems from a consumption perspective, particularly when equipped with the institutional, economic, and behavioral dimensions for transformative change. Conceptualizing urban food systems as networks of actors, institutions and resources interacting across spatial scales, we argue that food system circularity is critically dependent on multi-level relations and governance structures that go beyond the material dimension of urban food provisioning. Rooted in food system thinking, this paper explores social science approaches to understanding if and how cities can drive and scale food system transitions on the basis of circular principles and practices. We conceptualize circularity as a transformative design principle from an urban food consumption perspective, and identify three key areas where we challenge social scientists and policymakers to seize opportunities for a richer social science perspective on food system circularity: (1) equitable economic relations and (spatial) interdependencies; (2) governance of the social dimension of circularity and (3) implications for everyday food practices and urban resilience. We explore current advancements in each of these social science approaches and provide a roadmap to advance food system circularity from an urban perspective.