Abstract
This paper examines the ambiguous role of economic growth in shaping urban transformations within two municipalities that are implementing the Doughnut Economics (DE) framework. Doughnut Economics proposes a radical reorientation of economic objectives, prioritising human well-being and ecological limits as the primary goals of economic activity. Adopting an ‘agnostic’ stance on growth, DE does not explicitly oppose economic growth, unlike degrowth approaches, but rather side-lines it. This paper explores the practical implications of this agnostic stance by analysing how DE principles and tools are interpreted and applied in real-world contexts. Empirical insights from two small municipalities – Tomelilla (Sweden) and Bad Nauheim (Germany) – highlight a key tension: while decentring but not rejecting growth allows for the engagement of a broad range of actors in urban transformations, the absence of a robust discussion on growth in these growth-oriented settings enables pro-growth perspectives to persist largely unchallenged. Recognising the challenges this poses for urban transformations beyond growth, the paper advocates for an open but decidedly growth-sceptical approach, replacing Doughnut Economics’ ‘growth agnosticism’ with a ‘secularisation of growth’.
Published Version
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