Contrasting Regional Habitats for Urban Sustainability Experimentation in Europe

Harm Van Den Heiligenberg,Jifke Sol,Gaston Heimeriks,Rob Raven,Marko Hekkert

doi:10.3390/su10051624

Harm Van Den Heiligenberg, Jifke Sol + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051624

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Abstract

The sustainability challenge requires experimentation with innovations, followed by an upscaling process towards a broader regime change in the long term. In Europe we observe various regional hotspots for sustainability experimentation which suggests that there are favorable spatial contexts. Little is known about why different kinds of experiments flourish or fail in various spatial contexts. In this paper we explore these contexts by using the habitat concept. A habitat is regarded as the configuration of favorable local and regional context factors for experimentation. To capture the diversity of these habitats we have constructed archetypical experimentation patterns. These patterns are built up of five dimensions: knowledge, governance, informal institutions, regional innovation advantages, and social learning. In a comparative case study in four city regions in Europe we find a large contrast in habitats. Countercultures play an important role, as they shape a beneficial context for experimentation through alternative ideas and lifestyles. We also find indications that it is important that a combination of several habitat factors is present, and that these factors have aligned and evolved over several years of experimentation, thus leading to a more mature habitat. The research suggests that regional stakeholders can positively influence most of the habitat factors shaping future upscaling. However, there are also some important factors, such as regional knowledge and skills, which have a path-dependent nature and are more difficult to improve in the short term.

Highlights

Sustainable development is arguably the most important societal challenge of our time
We are interested in capturing these contrasting habitats and in the dimensions that cause this contrast; our research question is the following: which spatial context factors enable the future upscaling of sustainability experiments in contrasting regional habitats in Europe, and can these factors be influenced in a positive way? It is important to clarify here that in this research we are interested in how to anticipate future upscaling of experiments during experimentation; we are not analyzing the actual upscaling process
We had the following research questions: which spatial context factors enable the future upscaling of sustainability experiments in contrasting regional habitats in Europe, and is it possible to influence these factors in a positive way? The main conclusions are as follows:

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable development is arguably the most important societal challenge of our time. In the first phase of these transitions, an important activity is to experiment with sustainability innovations. A series of experiments may contribute to an upscaling process towards a broader regime change in the long term [1]. Cities are seen increasingly as agents of change [2], as ideas spread more in densely populated areas because of proximity advantages. Cities increasingly see themselves as laboratories (i.e., experimental places) where innovations can be trialed ([3]). Experimentation is increasingly regarded as a governance strategy that may serve as an alternative to conventional predict-and-provide forms of urban planning [4]

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