Five European cities - Aberdeen, Ghent, Ludwigsburg, Montreuil, and Rotterdam - participated in a transition management process to develop pathways towards a low carbon future. The process involved understanding each city's current system through interviews, convening transition arenas of diverse change agents to develop long-term visions and agendas, and supporting over 30 transition projects. The arenas empowered participants, improved understanding of sustainability challenges, and sparked new networks and innovations. Key lessons included tapping into existing city dynamics, allowing sufficient time, and elevating knowledge among all involved to better guide transitions towards sustainable cities.

1. Transition Management for
sustainable cities
insights from five European cities
Chris Roorda
DRIFT, Dutch Research Institute for Transitions
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Ecocities 2013, Nantes
Session RG5
25 September 2013

2. Mitigation in Urban Areas,
Solutions for Innovative Cities
Aberdeen
5 local governments search for
pathways to a low carbon future
Supported by two knowledge
institutions: CRP Henri Tudor
(LUX), DRIFT (NL)
Ghent
Montreuil
Rotterdam
Ludwigsburg

3. TM as a response to persistent unsustainability
• Ambitious targets, but issues are deeply rooted in societal
structures.
– need for fundamental change of paradigms, routines and structures
– complexity: non-linear; multiple actors, scales and domains involved.
– requires additional policy instruments
• Aiming for a sustainable future is about finding fundamental new
ways of thinking, working, organising – by all kinds of actors.
– impossible to ‘command and control’
• Transition Management aims to influence the pace and direction
of societal change by creating space for systems innovation

4. Transition Management - Basics
• Insight into the system
•
Understand dynamics and interlinkages of multiple domains, actors and scale-levels
• System innovation in incremental steps
•
Take small but radical steps, guided by a long-term perspective
• Diversity and flexibility
•
Don’t pretend the future can be predicted nor planned
• Co-creation
•
Realize everybody is a decision maker in some way
• Creating opportunities for change-agents
•
Go beyond vested interests and stakes
• Social and institutional learning
•
Take time for reflection & learning, this is essential for challenging paradigms and routines
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5. Central method in TM: Transition Arena
“protected” setting with new connections
to think & act beyond business-as-usual
selective, involving± 15 change-agents
≠ stakeholders
diverse backgrounds and opinions
policy, business, civil society
complementary to “regular” policy
(and also not to be confused with participation)

6. Transition Management process
Problem
structuring
Vision
Agenda
Systemic
change
perspective
analysis
T-team
Transition
networks
Transition
Arena
Action
perspective
Transition
experiments

7. Example: Arena process in Ghent
Arena impulse concentrated in 2011
• With transition team (5 members): 4 months of
preparation
• With transition arena (17 members): 7 months
(6 meetings) from analysis to vision to agenda.
• „Launch“ at Climate Forum, 22/11/2011

8. Example Ghent: From understanding the
current system to vision images
Emerging
niches
• Ghent, great place to live
• Locally creating added value
• Energetic city, intelligent cycles
• Ghentenaar home in the city

9. Example Ghent: Climate arena triggers action...
CWG Valorisation waste water and
biodegradables
CWG Art Sector
Research
biogas from
biodegr.
20 cultural
organizations
CEIP meets
GMS
938 mobbers
CWG consumer pusher market
CWG mobility
Climate
arena
Inspiration to
political parties
Mobility arena
Support for SMEs
Transition
University
Ghent
Assessment
of potential
for
ESCO’s
CWG Energy Efficiency in business
KWG UGent
CWG Urban
Farming

10. Example Ghent: Quotes from Arena Participants
Participants
“Most valuable was the dynamic atmosphere of people who want to
be the change”
“I learned a lot thanks to the different backgrounds”
“We built mutual trust, we showed openness and respect”
City officers
“I was amazed how much vigor such a group can have”
“I realized how little I knew of what is going on in my own hometown”
“This helps to get climate neutrality on the agenda in every
department”
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11. Reflection
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12. Experiences in 5 cities - reflecting on…
Aberdeen, Ghent, Ludwigsburg, Montreuil, Rotterdam
 about 150 interviews preparing the arenas
 arena groups in cities developed a total of 5 transition
agendas (including problem framing, vision and agenda)
 After the arena’s, 30 transition projects started up
some spin-offs, some experiments, some just seeds, even 2 new arena’s.
 All in all, the ideas and actions from the arenas reached
thousands of followers and motivated a part of them to
engage in working towards a low-carbon future.

13. General results within municipalities
 Better understanding of complexity and the societal
context of the low-carbon challenges through interaction
 Shifting view on participation  co-production
& inspiring contact with the change-agents
‐ More space in organization for new ways of working
it created a comfort zone to come out of the comfort zone
‐ more building upon societal dynamics
‐ more collaboration within municipality
‐ more reflexivity
‐ less SMART

14. Lessons learned
 Tap into city dynamics
 Explore / connect to / learn from what happens in the city
 Invest time and take time
 have patience, some things need time to grow
 selection of change-agents is key
 Don’t underestimate “setting the scene”
 preparing, creating support, finding a way that it fits in the context
 Elevate the level of knowledge of all involved

15. Overall outcomes of Transition Management
 Creating joined understanding & responsibility for the challenges
 Empowerment and learning
 Bundling of innovation
new networks and constellations
 Changing roles and relationships
incl interaction top-down/bottom-up and radical/moderate innovators
 Giving an impulse to a movement for a sustainable city
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16. Thank you for your attention
For more information and publications:
roorda@drift.eur.nl
www.drift.eur.nl
www.themusicproject.eu
Tip: visit Eurocities Ghent, 27-29 November

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