Constructing Low-Carbon Imaginaries in Urban
Reading the future : constructing low-carbon imaginaries in urban institutions DOBSON, Julian Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/18744/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version DOBSON, Julian (2017). Reading the future : constructing low-carbon imaginaries in urban institutions. Doctoral, Sheffield Hallam University. Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk Reading the future: constructing low carbon imaginaries in urban institutions Julian Dobson A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Sheffield Hallam University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2017 Truly, though our element is time, We are not suited to the long perspectives Open at each instant of our lives. Philip Larkin, Reference Back (1955) 1 Abstract Reading the future: constructing low carbon imaginaries in urban institutions A central paradox of environmental sustainability is that the institutions that bring stability to society must become agents of transformative change. In an urbanised world characterised by fossil fuel dependency, the stable ‘anchor institutions’ in major cities are likely to play a central role in transitions towards a low carbon economy and society (Coenen, Benneworth & Truffer, 2012; Goddard & Vallance, 2013). However, the nature of institutions both enables and militates against sociotechnical change, constraining the futures that are imaginable and achievable. This paradox has received little empirical attention. This thesis asks how actors in urban institutions imagine and interpret low carbon transitions.
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