Interrupting Property Regimes: Assessing Collective Land Tenure Arrangements for Foodscapes in the Global North

The ownership model of property is central to land use in the Global North. As a set of relations, it has an individualizing force that isolates landowner decision-making from the broader collective, creating unjust outcomes across socio-ecological dimensions. As a counter, communities in the Global North are calling for shifts away from the ownership model of property and towards collective tenure structures that support socio-ecological needs. Promising examples of this shift can be found in foodscapes and food systems, where people are adopting collective tenure structures for agricultural projects. This research focuses on two distinct sites of collective land tenure arrangements: agroforestry projects in the Northeastern US and urban farms in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the US, our agroforestry case studies suggest efforts have been generally limited to market-based impact, where groups obtain parcels of land through private transactions before converting to some form of collective stewardship. In contrast, our case studies in Scotland trace their impacts in part to the government, which has passed a series of land reform acts that attempt to prioritize and fund community ownership of land. Our research suggests that both movements hint at facets of justice-oriented land reform. This paper illuminates the factors that contribute to successful collective land tenure arrangements as well as the associated benefits and drawbacks for food systems along the rural-urban continuum. Our research demonstrates that successful collectives (1) are made up of individuals with strong shared visions reached through intentional relationship building and (2) benefit from being nimble, adaptable organizations. In so doing, we add dimension to meanings of ‘community’ in the modern era. Governance structures vary depending on the project but often rely on participatory and democratic decision-making processes. Our research considers how collective land tenure arrangements may address a range of socio-ecological needs and examines what it takes for them to effect structural shifts in Global North property regimes.