TY - JOUR

T1 - Urban sustainability science

T2 - prospects for innovations through a system’s perspective, relational and transformations’ approaches: This article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Urbanization

AU - Frantzeskaki, Niki

AU - McPhearson, Timon

AU - Kabisch, Nadja

N1 - Funding information: Nadja's work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; research project GreenEquityHEALTH, no. 01LN1705A). TM’s participation was supported by the US National Science Foundation (#1444755, #1927167, and #1934933) and the SMARTer Greener Cities project through the Nordforsk Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities program.

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - In this perspective, we present how three initial landmark papers on urban sustainability research contributed to the larger sustainability science scholarship and paved the way for the continued development of urban sustainability research. Based on this, we propose three conceptual innovation pathways to trace the progression of urban sustainability science: First, urban sustainability from a system’s perspective, meaning that urban sustainability requires integrative solutions to work in the tripled social-ecological-technological system setting. Second, urban sustainability from a (people and place) relational perspective, meaning urban sustainability is a contested and dynamic social-ecological contract of cities. As a governance mission, urban sustainability requires evidence from research that can inform coordinated action to bridge people, places, meanings, visions and ecosystems. Third, urban sustainability from a transformative science perspective, meaning that for urban sustainability to be achieved and progressed, deep transformations are required in systems, relations, policies and governance approaches. Our proposal for the future of urban sustainability science centres on emphasizing the relevance and policy applicability of systems’ thinking, value and place thinking and transitions/transformations thinking as fundamental to how knowledge is co-produced by research science, policy and society and becomes actionable.

AB - In this perspective, we present how three initial landmark papers on urban sustainability research contributed to the larger sustainability science scholarship and paved the way for the continued development of urban sustainability research. Based on this, we propose three conceptual innovation pathways to trace the progression of urban sustainability science: First, urban sustainability from a system’s perspective, meaning that urban sustainability requires integrative solutions to work in the tripled social-ecological-technological system setting. Second, urban sustainability from a (people and place) relational perspective, meaning urban sustainability is a contested and dynamic social-ecological contract of cities. As a governance mission, urban sustainability requires evidence from research that can inform coordinated action to bridge people, places, meanings, visions and ecosystems. Third, urban sustainability from a transformative science perspective, meaning that for urban sustainability to be achieved and progressed, deep transformations are required in systems, relations, policies and governance approaches. Our proposal for the future of urban sustainability science centres on emphasizing the relevance and policy applicability of systems’ thinking, value and place thinking and transitions/transformations thinking as fundamental to how knowledge is co-produced by research science, policy and society and becomes actionable.

KW - Cities

KW - Nature-based solutions

KW - Place

KW - Sustainability

KW - Systems

KW - Transformations

KW - Transitions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102576273&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s13280-021-01521-1

DO - 10.1007/s13280-021-01521-1

M3 - Article

C2 - 33710518

AN - SCOPUS:85102576273

VL - 50

SP - 1650

EP - 1658

JO - AMBIO

JF - AMBIO

SN - 0044-7447

IS - 9

ER -