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Governing sustainability: a dialogue between Local Agenda 21 and transition management
Abstract
Since the 1990s, the local level of governance has become increasingly important in addressing the challenge of sustainable development. In this article, we compare two approaches that seek to address sustainability locally, namely Local Agenda 21 and transition management. Discussing both approaches along six dimensions (history, aim, kind of change, governance understanding, process methodologies, and actors), we formulate general insights into the governance of sustainability in cities, towns, and neighbourhoods. This dialogue illustrates two related modes of thinking about sustainability governance. We touch upon the importance of an integrated perspective on sustainability transitions through which sustainability is made meaningful locally in collaborative processes. We suggest that the explicit orientation towards radical change is a precondition for governing sustainability in a way that addresses the root causes of societal challenges. Governing sustainability should address the tensions between aiming for radical change and working with status quo-oriented actors and governing settings. We conclude that governing sustainability should be about finding creative ways for opening spaces for participation, change, and experimentation, that is, for creating alternative ideas, practices, and social relations. These spaces for innovation encourage a reflexive stance on ways of working and one's own roles and attitudes, thereby preparing a fertile terrain for actors to engage in change from different perspectives.
... As an approach, transition management systematically drives the co-creation of visions, actions, and strategic agendas in the form of transition pathways that can inform and mobilize action on the short-term, medium-term, and long-term, connecting in this way actions of 'here and now' to desirable futures 'there and tomorrow' [24]. With applications in low-carbon climate mitigation and adaptation in cities [5,17,20] and in urban sustainability with the focus on climate adaptation [16] as indicative to how Transition Management can benefit traditional strategic planning. Specifically, we conducted a transdisciplinary research that included co-design and applying and monitoring the application of transition management between researchers and city officers in the following neighborhoods: Sint Antries in Antwerp, Belgium; Lawrence Hill and Easton in Bristol, United Kingdom; Zaleze in Katowice, Polland; Senge Park Greece; City center district in Potenza, Italy; Dolno Ezerovo in Burgas, Bulgaria; Tou in Thessaloniki, Greece; Ruchill and Possil Park in Glasgow, United Kingdom; and kaanderwijk in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ...
... In the Resilient Europe project, the transition management approach was introduced extending from the process guidelines that were developed in two previous projects: the MUSIC project [4][5][6]16,17,19,23] and the Melbourne Urban Water Transition project [18,40]. As such, in this paper we will not repeat the process guidance steps in full detail as those Sustainability 2022, 14, 650 6 of 27 already developed and published in earlier work; instead, we will introduce the outcomes of the process and will focus on the activities performed and skills required to realize them. ...
... It is important to have a continuous reflection and monitoring of the transition management process to harvest on the lessons learnt and, in this way, change/transform the existing planning practice and mindsets about how to make urban resilience in cities [5,16,19,28,49]. In the activating phase, transition management theory and practice propose to tailor tools and methods to the planning experience and rationale to ensure that learning is documented, captured, and reflected upon [7]. ...
Cities are open to trialing new approaches for advancing their planning and urban governance practice. Evidence from urban research and practice shows that transition management has been widely and diversely applied for strategic planning for climate mitigation and adaptation, regeneration, as well as sectoral (energy, water, waste) and social cohesion agendas. Despite the amounting evidence of the applications of transition management, the research has not identified what it is required in terms of skills to apply such a governance framework for participatory governance in cities. In this paper, we respond to this gap by providing evidence from 11 cities across Europe that applied transition management as an approach to participatory urban governance for unpacking what transformative actions are required to strengthen urban resilience in deprived neighborhoods. Our multi-case study research and analysis reveals that a multitude of vocational and academic skills are required for the application of transition management approach including systems thinking, creativity, theory-to-practice application skills, diplomatic skills for forging partnerships and learning alliances and openness to learning-by-doing during experimentation. Transition management application in cities in the Resilient Europe project brought about positive outcomes in terms of developing new skills, embedding new knowledge about urban resilience and transition management in planning.
... Comparing transition management and LA21, Wittmayer et al. (2016) display and discuss the differences, and similarities, of the two approaches. The authors conclude that individuals that drive sustainability processes need mandate to do so. ...
In a previous study we tested a model for implementation of methodological support for cross-sectoral collaboration for strategic transition toward sustainability. To make the model viable long-term, practitioners emphasized the importance to recruit and engage leaders into the process upfront, however, this was also the key missing element according to the ten municipalities and regions in the action research project. Nevertheless, if addressed sufficiently, active leadership could favor other needed support, such as capacity building and merging with ongoing work. Therefore, this study aimed to design, test and evaluate an approach to better involve leaders into strategic decision-making for sustainability early on in the collaboration processes. The approach evolved as an in-depth study in one of the municipalities. A pre-assessment based on semi-structured interviews and desktop review was compiled and presented back to municipal top management during a session that included a focus group discussion to capture the leaders' feedback on the assessment as well as advice on how to make the implementation model viable long-term. Results gave that the leaders reached a good understanding of the implementation model and how current practice in the municipality related or could be related to it. As an indicator of spurred engagement and hence, a successful result, one outcome from the session was a strategic decision to carry out a thorough sustainability analysis according to the methodology that the model is supposed to implement. This work is ongoing. In addition, support for alignment with existing management systems was asked for. An evaluation of the approach itself was positive, however, pointed at the extensive work needed for the assessment. Alternative ways, such as self-assessment or peer-assessment was discussed. Forthcoming research will test and further refine the applied approach of this study to enhance strategic decision-making for sustainability while also considering the role of academia in municipal practices for sustainability.
... In the perspective of city actors, the role of policymakers can play indirect roles by mobilizing their locality and incorporating them into developing visions to address sustainability transitions [15]. Also, Paddock [12] declares that policy makers are key actors to promote change towards sustainability transitions. ...
The ongoing crisis has shown that incumbent food system has been facing challenges. For a resilient and sustainable food system, transitions which shift towards sustainability, attention to public health and wellbeing as well as inclusiveness is compulsory. To overcome these challenges, driving a stepwise policy transformation, responsive and adaptive policy mixes and addressing citizens to drive sustainability are pivotal. This article represents two roadmaps which are designated for Nilüfer, Bursa. The roadmaps aim at including policy headlines/priorities as well as local needs and plural variations of collectivity to ensure a sustainable food system transition. The roadmaps are composed of two scalar levels one of which is macro-level; Nilüfer Food Policy Roadmap while the other is micro-level; Nilüfer Living Lab Roadmap
... Examples might be to support the development of cross-departmental and -organizational collaboration mechanisms, common goals, and connected accountability standards. A critical action research approach where support is developed through engaging with municipal practitioners, such as suggested by Wittmayer et al. [51], seems appropriate and also in line with ongoing research on methodological support for cross-sectoral municipal and regional strategic work for sustainability [52]. Funding: This research was funded by The National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities and the municipalities of Hudiksvall, Karlskrona, and Lerum. ...
Even though large parts of a municipal administration’s work are aligned with social sustainability, this dimension has been somewhat more challenging and there seems to be a vast diversity in how it is approached. Academic literature on the systematic organization of this work is sparse. The aim of this study was to understand how Swedish municipalities organize their work with social sustainability and to find best practices. A survey among 21 municipalities and follow-up interviews with three of them were conducted. The study revealed that the organization of social sustainability work varies considerably among municipalities and that no simple patterns relating to size or existing organizational structures can be detected. Each municipality seems to be finding its own way and is more or less successful in strategically working with this area. Best practice focused on creating additional structures for collaboration across departments, with external actors, and across sectors to at least partly overcome the silo approach engrained in a municipal structure. It was also connected to the active involvement of leaders, clear mandates, and that a common vision for social sustainability was communicated. These lessons can be transferred to other municipalities and help them move towards social sustainability in a strategic way.
... The significance of local governance of climate policy as a source of exemplary and pioneering action across sectors [24] has been underlined by the well-documented and serious failure so far of national governments to implement international climate agreements, incentivise decarbonisation and set their economies on course for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the goals of the Paris Accord [5,25,26]. Together, the literatures on emergent climate governance approaches at global and city scales provide a significant body of knowledge and theory on the benefits and failings of top-down and bottom-up policy development, contributing to understanding of multi-level governance for climate action and more generally for sustainable development [2,4,6,7,15,27,28]. ...
The crisis of climate disruption and shortcomings in top-down approaches has focused attention on the effectiveness of governance to achieve climate goals. New sub-national governance models such as business alliances, city networks and NGO coalitions have emerged; such institutional ‘re-making’ is often motivated by frustration at national inaction, and by a belief thatlocal actors offer an effective ‘bottom-up’ approach. Literature on the emergence of climate-led multi-level and polycentric governance focuses primarily on cities; the role of urban-rural counties and of the micro-level of local government, and the challenges and opportunities before them, is less well studied. This paper draws on work in progress in a study exploring progress, challenges and failings in UK climate governance across multiple levels of county-based government: Surrey, an area of towns, peri-urban districts and countryside, is offered as a case study, with a focus on micro-level action in small towns and parishes. We find that despite a lack of national government orchestration or sub-regional frameworks, climate action is occurring voluntarily at all levels of governance. However, the nature of action is variable and irregular and there is little evidence as yet to demonstrate effectiveness. A fragmented form of multi-level governance is observed, with limited upward flows of ideas and no indication of national interest in micro-local climate lessons and experience. We identify the importance of ‘wilful actors’ and the need for greater coordination, information- and knowledge-sharing networks to achieve effective institutional ‘remaking’ for climate action.
... One major target is the transformation of central, currently fossilfuel-based socio-technical systems (e.g., mobility, energy production, housing, and nutrition) into fossil-free ones without endangering but rather promoting equality, inclusion, diversity, well-being, and quality of life for current and future generations (WBGU, 2019). In interdisciplinary sustainability research (e.g., Loorbach et al., 2017;Ockwell et al., 2009;Uzzell & Räthzel, 2009;Wittmayer et al., 2016), there is a consensus that this challenge requires transformations on multiple levels: from individuals to national and global politics, to cultural patterns and macroeconomics. However, a failure to address these socio-ecological challenges in a quick and effective way will result in further overstretching or even in the destruction of critical "global boundaries" (Rockström et al., 2009) with the consequence of hunger, poverty, flight, or even death for a growing number of people, especially in the Global South. ...
The ongoing intensification of the socio-ecological crisis requires a "Great Transformation"(WBGU, 2011) of central societal systems involving aspects such as mobility, energy production, and nutrition. Thus, from a scientific point of view, the Great Transformation is a highly normative topic with a strong focus on societal and political processes of change. We are convinced that psychology can play a fruitful role in creating the social science for sustainability transformation that is needed for this purpose. However, for this to happen, psychology needs a shift toward a more impact-oriented research perspective, focusing on how people can effectively influence their ecological footprint and/or foster societal change as consumers, producers, or active citizens and community members. As starting points for developing such transformation-oriented psychological research perspectives, the present paper shows how a multilevel perspective on societal transfor-mation processes can be combined with the vision of a solidarity-based lifestyle. Against this theoretical backdrop, we see an important role for psychology in studying how people cope with an ecological crisis by inventing new environmental lifestyles and identities, despite being locked into the currently unsustainable socio-technical systems.
... This study is an effort to generate knowledge to manage the transition in the macro and micro scale. Managing the transition is composed of problem structuring, visioning, pathway development, agenda-building, and concrete experimentation [33][34][35]. This study was aimed at structuring the problem. ...
The energy transition is a certain phenomenon in the future of the world. However, exploring the existing literature suggests that public considerations have not been analyzed in Luxembourg yet. A widespread move from the conventional energy system based on fossil fuels into a new energy system with renewable energy could not occur successfully without the strong support of the public. Characterizing a theory of transition was intended to fill in the gap of knowledge of the field. To ground the built theory, it is necessary to collect as much empirical data as possible. The methodology used to collect data was to run a survey. Public groups in a variety of job statuses were invited to take part in the survey. The employed method to analyze the data was a combination of qualitative analysis with the pragmatic theory of truth. Overall, the number of collected responses reached 96. Notably, people did not imagine the future differently. They showed a lack of optimism in the future. The findings confirm that the necessity of energy transition is fairly far from people’s considerations. It is a big concern that the authors would like to highlight.
... Furthermore, as Fudge et al. (2016) suggested, "given their formal political status and existing role as local service providers" (p. 7), they can play critical roles in mobilizing their local communities and incorporating them into the development of effective visions addressing transitions to more sustainable regimes (Hodson and Marvin, 2009;Wittmayer et al., 2016). ...
The city of ˙Izmir-Turkey has recently attracted interest for a range of actions regarding agro-food and been perceived as a pioneer in providing alternatives to the practices of the incumbent agrofood regime. This paper builds on the multi-level perspective as a heuristic device to place these actions within discussions of sustainable agro-food transitions. Findings suggest that what could be considered as individual and isolated practices that diverge from agro-food regime may be viewed as sustainable niche alternatives from a transition perspective and hailed for sowing the seeds of an urban sustainability transition in the making. It is also demonstrated that making urban sustainability transitions in stabilized regimes such as agro-food, is as predicated on contestation and struggle as it is on policy devolution to localities, suggesting that sustainable agro-food transitions cannot be studied in isolation from the domain of urban policy and without incorporating adversarial struggle into the analysis.
This paper comprises five sections. The introduction is followed by a conceptual section,
outlining some of the key insights provided by the MLP and its application in an analysis of sustainability transitions. Following a description of the methodology employed, the focus turns to ˙ Izmir in the fourth section, offering empirical evidence that sustainable agro-food transitions are in the making in the city, which it does by addressing the generic pressures surrounding the agro-food regime and outlining the emerging local government-driven and bottom-up responses to these pressures that diverge from and run parallel to the prevailing agro-food regime. Finally, the paper reflects on the implications of the findings for the role of cities in terms of their contribution to the struggle for a sustainable future for agro-food.
Contemporary planning and governance of cities involves practices of experiments
and trials in urban experiments, collaborative platforms, and urban
development projects with high ambitions for sustainability and innovative
solutions. The introduction of experimental governance establishes a
new logic of public administration that results in multiple opportunities and
challenges. This thesis aims to examine the municipalities’ organisational capacity for experimental governance and the opportunities to ensure legitimacy.
The thesis involves a case study of the City of Stockholm and its innovative
practices in general and experimental governance practices in particular. The
focus is on the municipal organisation and how it has developed over the past
decade, rather than single experiments, collaborations, and projects. Using a
qualitative research approach, empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews, participatory observations, and document studies. The thesis comprises
four research articles. The first article provides a discussion of municipal innovation approaches and their influence of institutional logics. The second article is about municipal functions related to experiments, and how these functions challenge the local
government. The third article examines the work of experiments and partnerships
in policy and practice from a legitimacy perspective. The fourth article
explores the institutional capacity for translating innovation actions from high-profile
urban development projects into regular processes of the municipality.
The findings point towards the need for a more nuanced understanding of practices of experimental governance, and the development of permanent organisational structures and cultures to support and steer these practices. There is also a need for organisational procedures to ensure legitimacy, related to both input in terms of transparency, accountability and equality, and output in terms of results and effectiveness, with a capacity to implement the results.
The concept of ‘doughnut economics’ is attracting growing attention from policy-makers and has the potential to unify stakeholders around a holistic vision of sustainable development. The ‘safe and just’ space within the doughnut is framed at a global scale, based on human needs that represent a foundation for social wellbeing, and planetary boundaries reflecting biophysical limits. However, the geographical division of political power between and within nations means that its ability to stimulate change will depend upon its application at national and subnational scales. This paper examines the challenges facing local institutions in downscaling doughnut economics for planning, decision-making and leadership; draws on wider literature from previous efforts to localise sustainability governance to help illuminate these challenges; and outlines a future research agenda to support local governance for a safe and just space.
This article was first published in the Journal Ecology and Society at http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/:
Vos, Jan-Peter; Bornemann, Basil: The politics of reflexive governance: challenges for designing adaptive management and transition management. - In: Ecology and Society : a Journal of Integrative Science for Resilience and Sustainability. - ISSN: 1708-3087 (online). - 16 (2011), 2, art. 9.
The crisis of unsustainability is, above all else, a crisis of governance. The transition to a more sustainable world will inevitably require radical changes in the actions of all governments, and it will call for significant changes to the lifestyles of individuals everywhere. Bringing together some of the world's most highly regarded experts on governance and sustainable development, this book examines these necessary processes and consequences across a range of sectors, regions and other important areas of concern. It reveals that the governance of sustainable development is politically contested, and that it will continue to test existing governance systems to their limits. As an assessment of existing policy practices, it will be of great interest to all those who are preparing themselves - or their organisations - for the sustainability transition.
Linking environmental sustainability with poverty reduction and social justice, and making science and technology work for the poor, have become central practical, political and moral challenges of our times. These must be met in a world of rapid, interconnected change in environments, societies and economies, and globalised, fragmented governance arrangements. Yet despite growing international attention and investment, policy attempts often fail. Why is this, and what can be done about it? How might we understand and address emergent threats from epidemic disease, or the challenges of water scarcity in dryland India? In the context of climate change, how might seed systems help African farmers meet their needs, and how might appropriate energy strategies be developed? This book lays out a new 'pathways approach' to address sustainability challenges such as these in today's dynamic world. Through an appreciation of dynamics, complexity, uncertainty, differing narratives and the values-based aims of sustainability, the pathways approach allows us to see how some approaches are dominant, even though they do not produce the desired results, and how to create successful alternative 'pathways' of responding to the challenges we face. As well as offering new ways of thinking about sustainability, the book also suggests a series of practical ways forward - in tools and methods, forms of political engagement, and styles of knowledge-making and communication. Throughout the book, the practicalities of the pathways approach are illustrated using four case studies: water in dryland India, agricultural seeds in Africa, responses to epidemic disease and energy systems/climate change. Published in association with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). © M. Leach, I. Scoones and A. Stirling, 2010. All rights reserved.
We are now at an exciting stage in the awkward, but vital, transition to sustainability. In international government, in national strategies, in business, in community action, and in individual behaviour and outlook, we are beginning to witness a dawning realisation that global humanity has to shift if future generations are to survive with any meaningful sense of prosperity and wellbeing. We have no excuse about not knowing what may happen; modern science, the power of modelling and scenario building, together with the democratising effect of the internet, make any further denial impossible. We also know we have the global wealth and the technological wherewithal to change course if we have the will. In this chapter, I start by summarising the major themes of this book. Then I look again at the morphology of the shift from the environmentalism of the 1970s to the rhetoric and politics of sustainability in the 2000s and beyond. My intent here is to show that we have not yet seriously completed this adjustment in paradigms, and that the environmental labelling of sustainability continues to plague its political acceptability and public empathy. In this section I also analyse why sustainability is such a slippery concept for governance. In part, this is because of its intensely ambiguous qualities. But I also claim that we have not yet devised governance arrangements that can resonate, promote and champion sustainability. The irony is that sustainability is supposed to be transformational.
One of the features of the UK new government’s policy and politics in 2010 is what Prime Minister David Cameron calls ‘the Big Society’ launched in 16 July (www. cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/100719-bigsociety.aspx). This concept seemingly differentiates it from the earlier Thatcherite individualism, which famously denied the existence of ‘society’, and puts considerable emphasis on the role of civil society, the third sector and social enterprise to step in and succeed where the state has arguably failed. Is this a golden opportunity or a poison chalice for the community sector? Is it a distinctly new initiative or are there lessons to be learned from other international contexts where similar efforts have been tried? In this reflective piece, Matthew Scott, Director of the UK Community Sector Coalition, kicks of a debate which will be continued in future issues of the journal. ‘There is no Big Society Plan, and no one is in charge.’ David Wilcox – Social Reporter for the Big Society Network (26 August 2010) Shortly before he left the Big Society Network, David Wilcox published these beguiling words. They underline the highly labile nature of Big Society; an ideology which pretends it is not one. We can, however, be fairly certain that there is a plan albeit with a backdrop of muddled thinking and delivery going off at half cock, as witness the entirely predictable cancelling of the town hall tours. When it comes to hegemony the ambiguity is all. At the current time, Big Society, or BS as some Tory backbenchers have termed it, has nonetheless achieved a remarkable ideological ascendancy. Regardless of how it fares in the coming years, and the prognosis for revivified social action amidst austerity cannot be good since empirically people volunteer less at times of recession, BS is a triumph in articulating and updating the neoliberal settlement. One of its cheerleader strands, ‘Red Toryism’,