Towards urban food sovereignty: the trials and tribulations of community-based aquaponics enterprises in Milwaukee and Melbourne

Community-based urban aquaponics enterprises represent a new model for how to blend local agency with scientific innovation to deliver food sovereignty (FS) in cities, re-engaging and giving urban communities more control over their food production and distribution. Little is known, however, about the factors and outcomes that determine the success or failure of these enterprises. This paper explores stakeholder experiences of building community-based urban aquaponics enterprises to understand the internal and external factors that impact on their success or failure. We draw upon existing FS, social enterprise and aquaponics literature, to identify factors in the related area of community-based urban agriculture. For exploring these factors, we use a comparative case study methodology for two cases in Milwaukee and Melbourne, conducting in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, exploring their relative contexts, objectives and structure. Based on these findings, we highlight the challenges and suggest relevant indicators for establishing an urban aquaponics enterprise.