Cities shaping grassroots niches for sustainability transitions: Conceptual reflections and an exploratory case study

Wolfram, Marc

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.044

Cited by 98 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Beyond an initial focus on radical technological innovation in energy, mobility, food, and other societal systems organised primarily at a national scale, SNM-inspired conceptualisations figure in debates about urban experimentation [1,2] and grassroots innovations [31,54,55]. Nevertheless, the local-global model and its spatialised versions remain most Sustainability 2018, 10, 879 5 of 28 suited for studying the aggregation of similar or complementary experiments occurring in multiple localities, but which challenge a single sociotechnical system.…”

Section: Local-global Model and Its Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

2018

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Urban experimentation with sustainability has been gaining prominence in policy and academic discourses about urban transformations, spurring the creation of urban living laboratories and transition arenas. However, the academic literature has only begun examining why experimentation flourishes in particular cities, and why it conforms to place-specific styles. Meanwhile, the strategic niche management (SNM) tradition has extensively explored how protective spaces for experimentation emerge but has dealt only tangentially with why this happens in particular places. In this paper, we develop an approach for unpacking the formation of favourable environments for experimentation in specific places. We adopt an abductive research design to create a dialogue between distinct theoretical positions and one in-depth case study. Our case examines the formation of the Bristol energy scene, which hosts a variety of experimental initiatives concerning civic energy alternatives. Based on our findings, we refine the understanding of the processes shaping this experimental setting. There is value in characterising the 'genealogy' of experimental spaces and acknowledging their antecedents, path-dependencies and place-specificities. Efforts to foster urban transformation demand nuanced accounts of how places become experimental because they are not static backgrounds for experimentation.

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Section: Local-global Model and Its Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

2018

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“…Local transition initiatives, led by citizens, can provide empirical ground and proof of concept for new market forms and novel economic structures that react to a market need in a socially responsible, value-creating way. Connecting local actors and networks enhances the legitimacy of both process and outcome [22,[36][37][38]51,66]. They build and promote novel forms of social organization and economy as well as alternative systems of provision, such as local food systems, to enable more sustainable forms of production and consumption.…”

Section: Grassroots Innovations For Sustainable Food Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, Smith et al [61] define the spread of critical insight and transformative politics as success indicator. The multidimensional, diverse ways in which all grassroots innovation movements create new pathway possibilities represent vital resources for societies [36,55]. Their activity stretches beneath and beyond upscaling and insertion of specific artefacts into conventional innovation processes [55].…”

Section: From Individual Initiatives To Regime Reconfigurationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through networking with the wider society or regime, information and reflection are spread, and niche building is significantly enhanced. Partnerships legitimize and institutionalize alternative processes and embed them in standardized ones [21,28,34,36,38,63,96,97]. Relations are key to obtain political support.…”

Section: Preconditions At Societal (Meso-and Macro-)levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach identifies the conditions required for niches to successfully diffuse their ideas and practices into wider society [9,10,36,62,98,99]. Niches emerge from, are informed by and inform local projects and experiments.…”

Section: Preconditions At Societal (Meso-and Macro-)levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grassroots Initiatives as Sustainability Transition Pioneers: Implications and Lessons for Urban Food Systems

2018

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Abstract:This review explores the current evidence on the role and success factors of grassroots initiatives in sustainability transitions, with special attention given to social innovations and the transformation of urban food systems, a field that is still rather scantly dealt with in literature compared to technological innovations in other sectors such as energy. In addition to their contributions to get the necessary transformation towards sustainable futures off the ground, the preconditions for grassroots initiatives to thrive are presented-as well as limitations regarding their possibilities and the challenges they face. Increasingly, the importance of civil society and social movements in facilitating societal transformation is recognized by both researchers and policy makers. Within their radical niches, grassroots initiatives do not have to adhere to the logics of the wider systems in which they are embedded. This allows them to experiment with diverse solutions to sustainability challenges such as local food security and sovereignty. By means of democratic, inclusive and participatory processes, they create new pathways and pilot a change of course. Nevertheless, upscaling often comes at the loss of the transformative potential of grassroots initiatives.

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Scope for Circular Economy Model in Urban Agri-Food Value Chains

Henrysson

Hendrickson

2020

Sustainable Consumption and Production, Volume II

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Cities shaping grassroots niches for sustainability transitions: Conceptual reflections and an exploratory case study

Cited by 98 publications

References 72 publications

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene

Grassroots Initiatives as Sustainability Transition Pioneers: Implications and Lessons for Urban Food Systems

Scope for Circular Economy Model in Urban Agri-Food Value Chains

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