Bringing Transition Management to Cities: Building Skills for Transformative Urban Governance

Abstract

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.

Innovation Synergy

“…Within this paradigm, the notion of value extends beyond conventional boundaries, accommodating the notion that the process of innovation spawns novel meanings and generates entirely new domains of social practice (Midgley & Lindhult, 2021). This study recognizes that organizations poised to deploy innovative strategies must embrace a collaborative ethos, forging alliances with pertinent stakeholders to facilitate technology development, acquisition, and the exchange of transformative ideas (Frantzeskaki, 2022). Delving into the first dimension of operationalizing innovation as a management strategy, technological innovation emerges as a pivotal facet.…”

Concept of Food Circular Economy in Technical and Vocational Education: A Comprehensive Review

“…In the field of agriculture, students can learn regenerative farming practices, organic waste management, and sustainable food production (Liu & Ramakrishna, 2020). In addition, TVET programs can address renewable energy technologies, waste management and environmentally friendly practices across industries (Anyigor-Ogah & Egba, 2018;Frantzeskaki, 2022;Handayani et al, 2020).…”

City-Level Transition to Low-Carbon Economy

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