Informing adaptation responses to climate change through theories of transformation

Park, Sarah; Marshall, Nadine; Jakku, Emma; Dowd, Anne-Maree; Howden, Mark; Mendham, Emily; Fleming, Aysha

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.10.003

Cited by 562 publications

(343 citation statements)

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“…These perspectives, which include RS, SoT, SeT, and SP, encompass distinct pathways and outcomes of transformation (Geels and Schot 2007;De Haan and Rotmans 2011), including potentially 'non-desirable' consequences , such as changes resulting in greater social inequality or increases in carbon consumption and emissions. On the other hand, prescriptive concepts of transformation, which include DT, PT, and TA2, define transformative change not only as entailing structural change, but also as going specifically in desirable directions, which are differently determined on the basis of such benefits as ''substantial and widely distributed benefits [to] both society and ecosystems''(Marshall et al 2012:2), increased adaptive capacity (e.g., Park et al 2012), or empowerment and agency (O'Brien 2012). Transformation can be contested, as the particular performance of the evaluated system depends on given values.…”

Section: Outcomementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transformation has significant overlaps with other concepts, such as resilience, adaptation, transition, critical transition, and sustainable development (Sheffer 2009;Pelling 2011;Park et al 2012), and the relationships among these are interpreted from a range of perspectives. Some strongly delineate transformation from transition (Pelling 2011;Brown et al 2012), while for others (e.g., Griffith et al 2010;De Haan and Rotmans 2011), the former is seen as a building block or particular type of the latter.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Theoretical and methodological debate around transformation is in its infancy (e.g., Shove 2010a, b;Brown et al 2012;Kates et al 2012;O'Brien 2012;Park et al 2012;Wiek et al 2012;Brown et al 2013;Mustelin 2013;O'Brien and Sygna 2013), and to the best of the author's knowledge, no attempt to systematically characterize the concept has been made so far. This paper aims to make some first steps in that direction.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: A review of emerging concepts

Feola

2014

Ambio

455

324

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The study of societal transformation in response to environmental change has become established, yet little consensus exists regarding the conceptual basis of transformation. This paper aims to provide structure to the dialog on transformation, and to reflect on the challenges of social research in this area. Concepts of transformation are identified through a literature review, and examined using four analytical criteria. It is found that the term 'transformation' is frequently used merely as a metaphor. When transformation is not used as a metaphor, eight concepts are most frequently employed. They differ with respect to (i) system conceptualization, (ii) notions of social consciousness (deliberate/emergent), and (iii) outcome (prescriptive/descriptive). Problem-based research tends to adopt concepts of deliberate transformation with prescriptive outcome, while concepts of emergent transformation with no prescriptive outcome tend to inform descriptive-analytical research. Dialog around the complementarities of different concepts and their empirical testing are priorities for future research.

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Section: Outcomementioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: A review of emerging concepts

Feola

2014

Ambio

455

324

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“…This socially constructed nature of many barriers and causes of limits to adaptation suggests that societal transformations are necessary for managing climate change. It may be only through changes of large magnitude that the social processes that impede or limit adaptation or the shared meanings of what is at risk can be changed (Park et al 2012, Rickards 2013). …”

Section: The Interplay Between Barriers and Limitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From barriers to limits to climate change adaptation: path dependency and the speed of change

Barnett¹,

Evans²,

Gross³

et al. 2015

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ABSTRACT. Research on the barriers and limits to climate change adaptation identifies many factors, but describes few processes whereby adaptation is constrained or may indeed fail to avoid catastrophic losses. It often assumes that barriers are by and large distinct from limits to adaptation. We respond to recent calls for comparative studies that are able to further knowledge about the underlying drivers of barriers and limits to adaptation. We compare six cases from across Australia, including those in alpine areas, rivers, reefs, wetlands, small inland communities, and islands, with the aim of identifying common underlying drivers of barriers and limits to adaptation. We find that the path-dependent nature of the institutions that govern natural resources and public goods is a deep driver of barriers and limits to adaptation. Path-dependent institutions are resistant to change. When this resistance causes the changes necessary for adaptation to be slower than changes in climate, then it becomes a limit to adaptation.

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“…The learning phase is essential for the improvement of SEA, since the shape of SEA protocols varies depending on the features, the needs and the policy actors that characterise each social and institutional context (Nitz & Brown 2001). Learning and acting can be intertwined in multiple processes, as in the model of Adaptation Action Cycles developed by Park et al (2012). The two cycles within this model consist of four main blocks that are common to the SEA process as well, namely learning, developing, implementing and monitoring/evaluating.…”

Section: From Adaptive Approaches To Policy-making To Adaptive and Itmentioning

confidence: 99%

A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

Baresi¹

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Sustainable development is one of the key issues facing human survival on this planet. The urban planning discipline is actively involved in fostering more feasible ways to structure human activities and their relationship with the global ecosystem's finite resources. Since sustainability has become a major issue for human kind, sustainability assessments have proliferated in different ways to integrate socio-economic prosperity and provide environmental safeguards. In theory, these assessments can contribute towards addressing the increasing threats posed by climate change and by the depletion of natural resources, by building consensus around shared strategies involving a wide range of stakeholders to address national and international sustainable development goals. In practice however, sustainability assessments are undermined by problems associated with first the policy-making processes (for example, stakeholders' involvement) and second the measurement of the impacts of policies, plans and programs (such as the definition and computation of sustainability indicators). These issues weaken community trust in sustainability assessments and reduce their efficacy. Critical research is required to explore viable solutions.The main goal of this thesis is to address the shortcomings of current procedures for sustainability assessment. A comparative case study explores differences and similarities between an Australian region (South East Queensland) and an Italian region (Lombardia), which are representative of different institutional and planning backgrounds. Methodologically, this thesis develops and applies a framework to understand how limitations within political and societal processes prevent the achievement of environmentally sustainable planning. This framework combines a 'limits-oriented approach to evolutionary ecology' (Sih & Gleeson 1995) transposed to governance and policy-making processes, and the need to pursue a sustainable use of finite natural resources as suggested by positions addressing the 'limits to growth' by Meadows et al. (1972).Overall, this thesis develops an approach to diagnose current obstacles that need to be overcome and the pathway for achieving institutionalised limits-oriented approaches for improving procedures of sustainability assessment. This 'limits-oriented' framework outlines the benefits that South East Queensland and Lombardia can achieve by optimising current practices for sustainable planning within their regional contexts. This approach explores the limiting traits that undermine the performance of sustainability assessments, and proposes ways to bridge the gaps that separate their theoretical conceptualisation from their practical implementation.The framework developed and tested through this thesis offers an analytical lens to examine how the assessment of sustainable planning is currently featured in different institutional contexts. Its experimental implementation in countries with different planning traditions provides an insight on iii how to overcome iss...

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Informing adaptation responses to climate change through theories of transformation

Cited by 562 publications

References 60 publications

Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: A review of emerging concepts

Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: A review of emerging concepts

From barriers to limits to climate change adaptation: path dependency and the speed of change

A limits-oriented approach to sustainable planning assessments: a comparative analysis of South East Queensland (Australia) and Lombardia (Italy)

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