How Cities Think: Knowledge Co-Production for Urban Sustainability and Resilience

Abstract

Understanding and transforming how cities think is a crucial part of developing effective knowledge infrastructures for the Anthropocene. In this article, we review knowledge co-production as a popular approach in environmental and sustainability science communities to the generation of useable knowledge for sustainability and resilience. We present knowledge systems analysis as a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding existing co-production processes as preconditions to the design of new knowledge infrastructures in cities. Knowledge systems are the organizational practices and routines that make, validate, communicate, and apply knowledge. The knowledge systems analysis framework examines both the workings of these practices and routines and their interplay with the visions, values, social relations, and power dynamics embedded in the governance of building sustainable cities. The framework can be useful in uncovering hidden relations and highlighting the societal foundations that shape what is (and what is not) known by cities and how cities can co-produce new knowledge with meaningful sustainability and resilience actions and transformations. We highlight key innovations and design philosophies that we think can advance research and practice on knowledge co-production for urban sustainability and resilience.

Interdependent Infrastructure as Linked Social, Ecological, and Technological Systems (SETSs) to Address Lock‐in and Enhance Resilience

“…Finally, it seems evident that the challenges and issues outlined in this manuscript cannot be fully addressed or solved from the perspective of a single discipline or sectoral expertise. In order to advance the science and effective management of SETS, a new generation of scholars and practitioners will need to develop a wide variety of skills and competencies such as an emphasis on real‐world problems, integration of knowledge from all sources (i.e., academia, practitioners, and citizens), acknowledgement of science as an actor in the systems it sets out to analyze, embracing complexity and interdependency, and acceptance of theoretical and practical pluralism rather than dualism (Hummel et al, ; Kramm et al, ; Miller et al, ; Munoz‐Erickson et al, ; Stokols, ; Wiek et al, ). Thus, to effectively develop a SETS perspective on infrastructure, we must begin to address the lack of transdisciplinarity in our training and education, our institutions, and our governance practices.…”

Reinterpreting urban institutions for sustainability: How epistemic networks shape knowledge and logics

“…Such processes, previous studies suggest, are fluid, contested and without predictable outcomes. Because they straddle the Ôknowledge-governance gapÕ (Nursey-Bray et al, 2014), they involve establishing social meanings as well as agreed facts (Jasanoff, 2010); their expertise needs to be understood as credible, legitimate and salient (Mu-oz-Erickson et al, 2017).…”

“…Through such networks the Ôcodified knowledgeÕ of academia or professional learning diffuses into the Ôpersonal knowledgeÕ or Ôtacit knowledgeÕ of practice (Eraut, 2000). Epistemic networks can Ôprovide novel ways of governing social-ecological systemsÕ (Olsson et al, 2006), support new Ônetwork imaginariesÕ (Mu-oz-Erickson et al, 2017), and introduce and legitimise Ôcosmopolitan knowledgeÕ from different local environments (Hulme, 2010). Through their openness to insights from practice and Ôlocal knowledgeÕ they may promote reflexive adaptive learning (Nursey-Bray et al, 2014).…”

“…Urban resilience is seen as encompassing, but not limited to, sustainability. Without sustainable approaches to urban life, including decarbonisation, cities are unlikely to be resilient in an era of climate change (Folke et al, 2010;Mu-oz-Erickson et al, 2017); this requires Ôa shift in both science and planning paradigmsÕ incorporating both resilience and transformation (Alberti, 2016, p. 49). I unpack this positioning further in section 2.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue on Tropical Forests: Management and Ecology in the Anthropocene

“…Henareh et al [21], Gould et al [22], Feng at al. [23], Jennings et al [24], Van Beusekom et al [25,26] Monitoring of changes in biodiversity Campos-Cerqueira et al [27], Wunderle and Arendt [28], González et al [29], Heartsill-Scalley and González [30] Understanding novelty Lugo and Erickson [31] Attention to urban environments and their functioning Muñoz-Erickson et al [32] A social-ecological-technological focus Lugo and Alayón [33], Lugo [34] Fomenting collaboration among many sectors of society González and Heartsill-Scalley [35] Development of novel policies for effective governance McGinley [36], Rudel [37] Institutional improvement M. Rains [38] * Manuscripts are part of this Special Issue or are recent products of the Institute's program.…”