This master’s thesis aims to shed light on the recent phenomenon of regional food strategies that aim for more localized food provisioning for urban and metropolitan areas. The discourse used in these strategies influences not only which stakeholders are included in the urban food governance process, but also influences the competition for urban and peri-urban space. It is imperative to highlight how discourse is used in regional food strategies and how this could potentially affect the fair use of and access to certain food resources within growing metropolitan areas. A search of current literature was done, and no research was found on how the discourse used in regional food strategies and urban food governance impacts spatial justice and food security within cities. This thesis aims to do so.

A comparative case study was used as they effectively analyze and synthesize patterns across phenomenon – regional food strategies – that unfold in different places – the two metropolitan regions of Amsterdam, North Holland the Netherlands and Phoenix, Arizona in the United States of America. A triangulation of qualitative methods, including discourse analysis, were used to enhance the validity of the research design.

The results revealed that both cases are characterized by fragmented governance, a lack of political urgency in addressing food system challenges, stakeholder conflict, and low to non-existent awareness of the RFSs among the public. Additionally, both cases are facing increased spatial inequalities that are effectively decreasing access to basic urban food resources.