A tree as big as a man’s embrace springs from a tiny sprout. A tower nine stories high begins with a heap of earth.
A journey of a thousand leagues starts from where your feet stand. (Lao-Tzu, translated by Wu, 2006:145)
By examining the current landscape of community food initiatives in London, the previous chapter demonstrated that London has great potential to grow a commons food regime in practice. However, as one of the conclusions suggested, if we want to grow a commons food regime more effectively, we need to make better use of existing knowledge and resources particularly relating to the practice of care, strategic planning, commoning dynamics, and commoning outcomes and evaluation. This chapter will explore and document how the integrative framework – ‘a tool of insight’ – used in Chapter 3 can be applied for growing a commons food regime in practice. The analysis will allow us to deepen the understanding of growing a commons food regime through a practice in a more specific context. This underscores the dynamic nature of growing this food regime, as it is constantly being adapted and reconstituted in the places it evolves in. This practice also represents a way of testing the relevance of the integrative framework.
Due to limited time and resources, it is important to note that the practice undertaken in this thesis was only a small-scale experiment, echoing Lao-Tzu’s statement that “a journey of a thousand leagues starts from where your feet stand”. Therefore, this experiment of growing a commons food regime was based solely on my own university – UCL. This was a response to one of the gaps identified during previous investigations, namely, that universities were not fulfilling an important role in helping to form multiple and reciprocal connections with society that could result in more desirable governance systems (Delanty, 2001:152). There were four main reasons for this strategic decision. Firstly, UCL, established in 1826, was one of the first universities to open its doors to students of any race, class and religion in England. Today, UCL claims to be London’s Global University, with founding principles and a university ethos aimed at addressing real-world problems through academic excellence and research(1).
Secondly, recent educational policies also made UCL a promising site for growing a commons food regime. UCL strives collectively to tackle complex ideas that require breadth and range of expertise. There are policies and programmes that help students to carry out research with an impact and commitment to building sustainable communities. For example, as a central feature of its research strategy, UCL Grand Challenges(2) “is the
mechanism through which concentrations of specialist expertise across UCL and beyond can be brought together to address aspects of the world’s key problems. It also provides an environment in which researchers are encouraged to think about how their work can intersect with and impact upon global issues”. Another example, the UCL Public Engagement Unit(3) , aims to develop an effective public engagement which informs
research, enhances teaching and encourages mutual learning between the university and elsewhere, and increases the impact on society. University and community engagement has been identified as an emergent field in the UK which highlights “a value-driven
157 mutually beneficial process of respectful negotiation and practice with partners outside the university” (Farrar and Taylor, 2009:247).
Thirdly, to put it more straightforwardly, as a PhD student at UCL, I have involved myself in a number of collaborative research projects focusing on agro-food issues, such as food security, rights-based approaches to food sovereignty, urban agriculture in London, and creating a sustainable campus within UCL. In so doing, I have already had access to available resources and networks at UCL. These experiences, combined with the investigation of the current landscape of community food initiatives in London, helped me throughout this project.
This chapter begins by outlining the methodology and methods used to grow a commons food regime in practice. Applying the integrative framework as ‘a tool of insight’, it outlines the scope and aims of the practice. An action research methodology is explained, followed by an introduction to the research design (i.e. critical spatial practice and case study). I will then describe the step-by-step account of the practice as well as the methods adopted with each stage of the process. Section 4.3 describes the case study – a journey of growing three consecutive commons food regimes through three university-led community food initiatives at UCL. Section 4.4 presents two levels of learning from the case study, firstly, an emergent model of growing a commons food regime from the case study and secondly, the implications from the model for growing a commons food regime through a community food initiative in London. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of the relevance of the integrative framework for growing a commons food regime (see Figure 4.1).
Introduction
Responding to and learning from the investigation of the current landscape of community food initiatives in London (Chapter 3)
Methodology and methods
• Choosing an action research as an overall methodological framework (researcher’s positionality) • Growing a commons food regime through as a critical spatial practice
• Applying the integrative framework as ‘a tool of insight’ for practice • A journey of growing a commons food regime as a case study
2. Process of practice 1. Defining scope and aims of practice