Stuck in the middle with you: The role of bridging organisations in urban regeneration

Abstract

The literature on the governance of social-ecological systems increasingly recognizes a key role of bridging organisations (BOs) in transition processes towards sustainability. BOs can be defined as facilitators who allow for interorganisational collaboration. Our paper provides a more nuanced understanding of specific BO activities and their contributions towards urban sustainability. Our analysis is based on applying three complementary methodological angles (drawing on geolocalised data, interviews and action research) to 20 years of urban renovation investments in the city-region of Brussels. We distinguish between multi-scale, multi-actor and multi-dimensional tensions in urban renovation programmes and link these tensions to bridging challenges for BOs. Results suggest that the corresponding three types of bridging roles form a trilemma rather than a trilogy: the BOs in study have mediated one tension by de facto exacerbating another. Lessons from action research suggest that a wider use of temporality and shared language to communicate about urban renovation projects could attenuate the bridging trilemma.

State of the Art and Latest Advances in Exploring Business Models for Nature-Based Solutions

“…The simple visual format of the Connecting Nature NBS business model canvas, inspired by the original Osterwalder and Pigneur canvas [20], led to frequent recognition among business stakeholders and was easily picked up by non-business stakeholders. An important observation from stakeholder engagement workshops was the critical role of an experienced facilitator or bridging organisation with knowledge of NBS in facilitating a productive stakeholder engagement process [52]. The use of experienced facilitators with good knowledge of business model canvas tools but poor knowledge of the multiple benefits of NBS led to poor outcomes in one city workshop and prompted the elaboration of a comprehensive guide to the NBS business model canvas by the Connecting Nature project.…”

Intermediating policy for transitions towards net-zero energy buildings

“…creating support for and calls for social experiments pertaining to agenda setting (Kivimaa, 2014;Bush et al, 2017) Aggregating expectations, knowledge and learning, and articulating this to policymakers (Seyfang et al, 2014;Hamilton et al, 2015) Strengthening the 'common voice'; networking, translating and aligning interests (Backhaus, 2010;Smith et al, 2016;Bush et al, 2017) Influencing preferences for policy options; advocating through voluntary standards, initiatives or experiments to pave the way; affecting policy priorities (Hamilton et al, 2015;Smith et al, 2016;Kivimaa & Martiskainen, 2018) Influencing the design of policy instruments, through aggregating, expectations, knowledge and learning (Kivimaa, 2014;Polzin et al, 2016;Kivimaa & Martiskainen, 2018) Facilitating experimentation; creating support for and calls for social experiments pertaining to policy formulation (Kivimaa, 2014;Bush et al, 2017) Coordinating policy implementation; developing targeted networks, promoting mutual understanding and shared responsibility (Bracken & Oughton, 2013) Translating and interpreting policy into practice; providing advice and guidance of (complex) policy to stakeholders (Fischer & Guy, 2009;Moss, 2009;Rohracher, 2009;Hodson & Marvin, 2010;Hampton, 2018) Enabling access to public finance; solving administrative barriers, making connections to supportive instruments (Polzin et al, 2016;Bush et al, 2017) 'Selling the policy' to its target recipients; encouraging participation, emphasising concrete benefits (Hampton, 2015) Trust building and conflict resolution, mediation of tensions, social learning (Kampelmann et al, 2016) Intermediating for broader policy evaluations pertaining to transitions…”

“…A study of intermediation in urban regeneration programmes in Belgium reveal a further intermediary function in policy implementation. Kampelmann et al (2016) discovered the successful mediation of tensions between public administration and community-based actors, linking to trust building and conflict resolution.…”

A Critique of the Application of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools in Urban Regeneration

“…As stated earlier, successful urban regeneration requires strategically designed and multi-agency partnerships [30]. Thus, opportunities for urban regeneration also effectively depend on the existence and capacity of bridging organisations to play managing interactions within social-ecological systems [66]. Dominant assessment ideologies typified by NSA tools are also present in urban regeneration models, and lack intellectual sophistication and rigor in evaluation of these regeneration imperatives [28].…”

“…The search for human sustainability means activating processes of regeneration able to ensure that "expert knowledge" can interact with "common knowledge" [18]. This is needed to coordinate social and technical aspects of urban transitions [66]. It is critical to provide mechanisms in which individual actors at local scales can support and witness sustainability within that context.…”