Blurring the boundaries: cross-scale analyses of food systems

The globalized and interconnected nature of food systems provides many examples of panarchies within social-ecological systems. However, few are analyzed using panarchy theory, particularly urban food systems, or in a comparative manner. We aimed to broaden the examination of cross-scale dynamics of food systems by applying panarchy theory through comparative study of three urban food systems: Flint, Michigan, Cleveland, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These are all post-industrial Rust Belt cities that have experienced similar economic downturns but have responded in different ways, which has created significantly different food system outcomes. We present an approach for applying panarchy theory in food systems, and identifying indicators of potential and connectedness at multiple scales with sources for such data. We analyzed available data and demonstrate how the economic history of these cities has influenced their food system outcomes today. Economic recovery at the city scale in Pittsburgh/Allegheny County was reflected in reorganization in the food system, while the lack of economic recovery in Flint/Genesee County and the uneven access to economic recovery in Cleveland/Cuyahoga County potentially placed the cities and their food systems in lock-in traps. We also reflect on the limitations of publicly available data at the city scale for the food system and over time. Overlooking such gaps may blur boundaries within a panarchy analysis and lead to assumptions about cities based on county data which might not be accurate or may hide critical variables such as race or geographic size. We caution researchers to be clear about scale in panarchy analyses and to acknowledge the limitations of current data sets and thus the importance of mixed methods primary data collection. The incorporation of place and historical context into panarchy analyses can lend valuable explanatory power to our understanding of cross-scale dynamics in food systems.