In this paper I mobilize the notion of autonomy to analyze circular food initiatives in the region of Brussels, Belgium. I examine two circular economy (CE) initiatives, a cooperative supermarket and a surplus food redistribution project, with a framework on autonomous food spaces (Wilson 2013). I explore the practices and imaginaries of initiatives that are experimenting with the ideas and practices of food as urban commons, such as sharing, reciprocity and mutual aid. Inspired by post-capitalist debates on the economy, I argue that these spaces are cases of reclaiming the commons when they contest the commodification and privatisation of the food system. The research shows the heterogeneity and complexity of these spaces. It illustrates as well how urban circular food projects can offer example of possible economic activities that rely on cooperation, solidarity and conviviality instead of profits. It explores the diversity of practices and imaginaries that prefigure a viable and alternative future and sheds lights on our understanding of diverse and circular economies by focusing on food as an urban common.
