Urban Food Policies in the Global South: Themes, Approaches, Reference cases

Within the framework of the international debate focusing on experiences emerging from cities in the global North, this paper aims to explore urban food policies under the lens of a global South perspective, paying particular attention to African cities and taking into account the common elements they present -compared with other urban contexts and territories- but also the specificities with respect to the process of urbanization and the linkages existing amongst cities and food. Under this light, urban food policies in an African context are also placed, on the one side, into a path specified by a number of keywords such as food and nutrition security, self-sufficiency and food sovereignty; on the other, they are positioned in a context of internationalization of reflections and actions culminated in the New Urban Agenda and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. The prospect of urban food policies is finally presented as an inspiring and propelling opportunity for new forms of territorial partnerships.