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Transition Cities As Niches for Radical Change

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Transition Cities As Niches for Radical Change Transition Cities as Niches for Radical Change How to organise Transition work in cities – what can Malmö, Sweden, learn from Bristol, England? Two case studies on the Transition movement By: Tina Nyfors [email protected] Supervised by: Pernille Gooch [email protected] Barry Ness [email protected] June 2011 A thesis submitted to Lund University in partial fulfilment for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science Lund University Center for Sustainability Studies | Geocentrum 1, Sölvegatan 10 | P.O. Box 170, SE‐221 00 LUND, Sweden Phone: +46 (0) 46 222 48 09 | www.lucsus.lu.se Abstract We live at times with multiple sustainability challenges and rapid urbanisation with more than half of the global population living in cities. This makes urban sustainability an issue of concern. The Transition movement is a grass roots response to climate change, Peak oil and economic contraction. This thesis explores through two case studies, in England and Sweden, how Transition initiatives in cities can be better organised in terms of institutions. I draw on 1) Ostrom's framework on self governing common-pool resource management and 2) sustainability transitions. The main result is a model based on Transition work in Bristol. The Transition movement is young and still largely unresearched, the hope is that the findings can contribute to knowledge on how to do Transition in cities. Key words: Transition movement, institutions, sustainability transitions, urban sustainability, resilience, Peak oil Word count: 15 466 i Acknowledgements First of all I would like to thank Pernille Gooch at the Human ecology department for all support and good discussions along the way, and Barry Ness for ensuring I stay on the LUMES track. I would like to express my gratitude to Svenska Sällskapet för Antropologi och Geografi for their scholarship for the field work. LUMES course mates – thank you for the hours spent together this spring, and for the past two years, everything becomes so much more fun when doing things together. I want to thank my interviewees in Bristol, Malmö and Totnes, for sharing with me their experiences and visions for the future. Anja and Steve, and Guinness – for hosting me in Bristol. Sustrans – for lending me a bike. Josh – for all your help with the computer. Peggy – for thorough proof reading. Camilla and Dayton – for an inspiring talk at the right moment and for comments on the text. To my family and friends for always being there. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ iii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables and Figures............................................................................................................... v Key concepts and definitions ........................................................................................................ vi 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Aim and research questions ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Limitations .............................................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................................................ 2 2. RESEARCH METHODS AND MATERIALS ............................................................................. 2 2.1 Meta-theoretical starting points ............................................................................................................ 2 2.2 Research strategy: case study ................................................................................................................. 2 2.2.1 Selecting the cases: Bristol and Malmö .......................................................................................... 3 2.3 Mixed method approach ........................................................................................................................ 3 2.3.1 Literature review ............................................................................................................................. 3 2.3.2 Interviews ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2.3.3 Document analysis ........................................................................................................................... 4 2.3.4 Participant observation ................................................................................................................... 5 2.3.5 Limitations and issues during field work ....................................................................................... 5 2.3.6 Reliability and validity .................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Analyzing and interpreting the empirical material .............................................................................. 5 3. BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Theoretical background ......................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.1 Big shifts in human history ............................................................................................................. 5 3.1.2 Urban sustainability ........................................................................................................................ 6 3.1.3 The Transition Movement .............................................................................................................. 6 3.1.4 Institutions and collective action.................................................................................................... 9 3.1.5 Sustainability transitions ................................................................................................................. 9 3.2 Case study background ......................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Bristol, the UK ............................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.2 The Swedish Transition network - Omställning Sverige ............................................................ 12 3.2.3 Malmö, Sweden ............................................................................................................................. 13 iii 4. RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 15 4.1 Bristol .................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.1.1 Chronological narrative of Transition Bristol .............................................................................. 17 4.1.2 The 12 steps.................................................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Malmö ................................................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.1 Chronological narrative of Transition södra Sofielund/Seved .................................................... 24 4.2.2 The 12 steps.................................................................................................................................... 26 4.2.3 Why did Transition in Malmö stop? ............................................................................................ 26 4.3 Model of Transition Bristol .................................................................................................................. 27 4.4 What can Malmö learn from Bristol ................................................................................................... 28 4.4.1 Challenges and how they were managed ..................................................................................... 30 4.5 What can Bristol learn from Malmö and the ”ingredients”?.............................................................. 31 4.6 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................ 33 4.7 What comes next? ................................................................................................................................ 33 5. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 34 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 35
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