2. Urban transitions: a new challenge
• Persistent unsustainability
o Deeply embedded in societal structure
o Have multiple causes and consequences
o Involve a wide range of domains, actors and scale
levels
• Urban transitions are both inevitable and
desirable
• But not necessarily lead to urban sustainability
• Barriers:
o Policy fragmentation and short termism
o Existing routines, roles and (infra)structures
o Lack of strategy towards systems change
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
7. Transitions?
A recurring pattern of societal change
A possibility for rapid shifts towards sustainability
A conceptual model and common language to
analyse, discuss and address complex societal
change
Basis for a multi-level ‘glocal’ governance strategy
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
8. Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
Dutch sector transitions
Sustainable
society?
health care
energywaste
waterconstruction
mobility finance
predevelopment
take-off
acceleration
stabilisation
Based on Rotmans et al, 2001
9. Urban transition challenges
• Lots of projects and initiatives ongoing,
but no large scale impact
• Dominant regimes increasingly challenged
but unable to transition
• How to bring more systemic thinking and
strategy to ongoing efforts and help
accelerate and guide transitions?
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
10. Transition Governance Framework
multi-level, multi-actor governance
Monitoring,
evaluating
and learning
Developing
images
coalitions
and
transition-
agendas
Mobilizing actors and
executing projects and
experiments
Problem structuring,
establishment of the
transition arena and
envisioning
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
12. Tools TM 1.0
SCENE
patterns
actor analysis
problem analysis
TRANSCE
reflexive
monitoring
monitoring
framework trans. indicators
MLP
DBU
Deepening, broadening, upscaling
transitioning
actor selection
expert-arena
system analysis
arena
agendaexperiments
evaluation
TM multiple participatory tools
13. Tools TM 2.0
tipping point
ethics
transition
potential
community engagement
communiciation
& discourse
financing (e.g. joint purchase)
empowerment
coalition building
business cases
cost-benefit
system analysis
arena
agendaexperiments
evaluation
TM
power analysis
institutionalization
power strategy
social movement
14. society
Transition arenaRegular policy arena
- Short term
- Peloton
- Incremental change
- Problem- and goal oriented
- Long term
- Change agents
- System-innovation
- Problem- and goal searching
Transition arenas
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
15. Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
Examples of urban transition
management
Working at the level of cities, sectors, areas, neigbourhoods
using common frame, language and tools
16. Aberdeen
Ghent
Montreuil
Rotterdam
Ludwigsburg
Mitigation in Urban Areas,
Solutions for Innovative Cities
5 local governments search for
pathways to a low carbon
future
Supported by two knowledge
institutions: CRP Henri Tudor
(LUX), DRIFT (NL)
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
17. Transition
Networks
Transition
Experiments
Transition
Arena
Phase III
Framing the transition
Phase IV
Envisioning a
sustainable city
Phase V
Reconnecting long term
& short term
Phase VI
Going into
action
Transition
Team
Phase I
Setting the
scene
Phase II
Exploring
dynamics
Phase VII
Engaging &
anchoring
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
20. Localising Principles1
Develop shared perspective on current system challenges
Localise principles for a water sensitive region
Vision
building
Vision
broadening
2
Develop images (visual and narrative) of a water sensitive
region
Explore scenarios of future contexts and broaden images to suit
Backcasting3
Develop different transition pathways (sets of strategies) for
each broadened image
Resilience building4
Broaden transition pathways by testing resilience with reference
to future surprises
Agenda forming5
Identify directions for possible future activities
Develop specific action plans
MELBOURNE’s Transition Workshop
Themes
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
27. The transition management approach
• Provides a practical governance philosophy, approach
and toolkit
• Enables the multi-level social learning process working
towards sustainability
• Empowers, connects and facilitates change agents at
different levels
• Can be translated to any complex context, building
upon local initiatives and competences
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
28. Beyond local agenda 21?
• Systemic approach explicitly aimed at
accelerating transitions
• Bottom-up and top-down
• Guding principles and methods, but no
blueprint
• Mobilising and channeling innovative energy in
society
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
29. More information and support
loorbach@drift.eur.nl
www.twitter.com/drk75
www.drift.eur.nl
INCONTEXT CONFERENCE
BERLIN, JUNE 6-7
www.themusicproject.eu
www.incontext-fp7.eu
www.sustainabilitytransitions.com
www.transitiepraktijk.nl/en
Dutch Research Institute For Transitions
