Urban sustainability as social innovation

Abstract

Implementing urban sustainability strategies has proven to be difficult. Therefore this paper aims at developing a better understanding of the urban sustainability concept as well as its relations with other concepts. The visualisation of the complex and intricate forces which constitute urban sustainability is attempted with the help of a graphic model.The dialectic relationship between global aims and local implementation, as well as the antagonistic relationship between institutional pressure and the behaviour of individuals and communities is discussed. Also, the sometimes opposing forces in the urban sustainability concept itself are discussed, as well as the difficulties individuals face when implementing urban sustainability strategies in the light if personal disadvantages.Due to this difficult and resistant implementation process of urban sustainability, we search for new perspectives. Here, the diffusion theory of innovations by Rogers (Diffusion and Innovation, 2003) is applied in order to approach urban sustainability as ideological and social innovation, and interpret the implementation as a socio-dynamic rather than a political or planning process.It seems that the understanding of urban sustainability as a social innovation holds some helpful insights into why implementation so far has been difficult. Based on this individuals and their choices are proposed to become in intrinsic part of the urban sustainability concept.

The implementation of urban sustainability strategies: Theoretical and methodological implications for researching behaviour change

“…Locally (strategically) urban sustainability can be described as the facilitation and coordination between formal and functional strategies, such as sustainable land use (compactness, intensity, density) and sustainable transportation as well as their integration, in addition to cyclic resource management. Furthermore, the implementation of urban sustainability depends on two concepts: the provision of sustainable infrastructure and policy by urban institutions and collective and individual sustainable behaviour by the urban population [1]. Structuring and thereby simplifying the concept of urban sustainability like this leads to a division into two arenas: the goals (meaning the intentions, aims and objectives of urban sustainability); and the more concrete implementation (in terms of means actors and effect) ( Fig.…”

“…In a conference paper presented at the Sustainable City 2014 conference in Siena, we proposed to view the concept of urban sustainability as a social innovation [1]. Our intention was to understand why the implementation of urban sustainability is slow and met with reluctance.…”

Development of a Weight Factor Method for Sustainability Decisions in Building Renovation. Case Study Using Renobuild

“…The definition of sustainability mentioned above is commonly used. It is, however, only one of many definitions [11,12]; there are more than three hundred others [13]. One of the present arguments about the concept regards the need for criteria that enable sustainability assessments of systems [14].…”