Transforming cities towards an ecological worldview: applying sustainability transition theories to urban planning

This research is situated within the premise that cities are complex and dynamic socio-ecological systems, which means that humans are part of ecological systems (Davoudi et al 2013; Jarbareen 2013; Gallopin 2006; Walker and... [ view full abstract ]

This research is situated within the premise that cities are complex and dynamic socio-ecological systems, which means that humans are part of ecological systems (Davoudi et al 2013; Jarbareen 2013; Gallopin 2006; Walker and Salt 2006; Rowe 2000). As a social-ecological system, a city’s form and structure can change over time. The transcendence and durability of cities is in fact due to their continuous change (Habraken 2000). Major transformations are often viewed as technological, or socio-technological transitions, such as how transport, communication, and housing are fulfilled, and include changes to user practices, regulations, networks, infrastructure, and symbolic meaning. Theories of sustainability transitions investigate the processes by which innovations in socio-technical systems, arising in niches, displace existing dominant or mainstream technologies. Research to date has focused on applying the theories to sustainability transitions in energy systems, water systems, and zero emission housing. These systems all fit easily within a ‘socio-technical’ conceptual framework. How can theories of sustainability transitions apply to innovations within an ecological worldview?
The purpose of this paper is to propose viewing transitions through the paradigm of the ecological worldview. The ecological worldview sees humans as active participants in the co-creation of the living systems we inhabit, and that the world is not mechanical and reasonably predictable. Rather, it understands that living systems are characterized by change, and therefore by uncertainty and unpredictability (Hes and Du Plessis 2015).
This paper will investigate the application of theories of sustainability transitions within the framing of ecological worldview. It will use the case of urban greenery policy as a niche innovation within the context of urban planning to investigate an example of a sustainability transition from mechanistic to ecological worldview. Viewing niches or points of transformation through the ecological worldview provides a way to view things differently, and for positive change to happen.