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.

Reconfiguring Urban Sustainability Transitions, Analysing Multiplicity

“…They point out that in actuality, 'distinctions between types of experiments are actually much more subtle and fluid' [48] (p. 20). Similarly, in their discussion of relationships between transitions management and local governance approaches Julia Wittmayer and colleagues engage with the issue of how sustainability in towns, cities and neighbourhoods is governed and how 'sustainability is made meaningful locally in collaborative processes' [49] (p. 939). They point out that although a radical orientation is necessary for governing urban sustainability this is confronted with the status quo of governing in practice.…”

“…They point out that although a radical orientation is necessary for governing urban sustainability this is confronted with the status quo of governing in practice. Their point is 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' [49] (p. 939). This discussion suggests that not only can urban experimentation be understood in many ways but that it is also about trying to categorise and identify 'types' of experiments whilst also recognising that urban experimentation is also a fluid and reflexive process of making the future which is constituted through doing and learning rather than being knowable a priori.…”

“…Its focus can be understood as both bounded and unbounded and as relating to socio-technical systems and urban governance arrangements. Recent work has sought to make some sense of the variety of studies on urban experimentation [48,49]. Frans Sengers and colleagues have suggested that experiments can be analysed along six dimensions as to the degree to which they are inclusive, systemic, practice-based, challenge-led, sites of social learning, and adaptive in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity in shaping socio-technical change.…”

Sustainability · Strategy · Space: exploring influences on governing for urban sustainability in municipalities

“…At the intra-municipal level, Wittmayer et al (2015) suggest that governing for sustainability should be oriented towards radicalism, whilst embracing incrementalism during implementation. This means "governing sustainability should be about finding creative ways for opening spaces for participation, change, and experimentation" (Ibid:1).…”

“…increased use of fossil fuels), the scale, pace and character of the changes required to increase levels of urban sustainability are the subject of debate . Whilst many approaches to achieving sustainable development allude to a need for radical transformations, the predominant forms of practice result in incremental transitions (Pereira et al, 2015;Wittmayer et al, 2015).…”