Governance of Urban Sustainability Transitions

Abstract

My research group is involved in collaborations with the dynamic ‘Amsterdam Metropolitan Region (MRA)’ and ‘Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region (MRDH)’, with the objective to investigate the complex governance challenges and opportunities related to urban sustainability transitions, mainly through transdisciplinary collaboration. The resulting knowledge and skills are\xa0used to support and engage with Transformative Social-Ecological Innovation (TSEI) in-the-making, which in turn will generate new knowledge and skills (i.e. in iterative learning cycles). This chapter starts with a brief overview of urban sustainability challenges (Sect. 7.1). Research activities are centred around the transition to climate-resilient and healthy cities (Sect. 7.2), feeding and greening megacities (Sect. 7.3), as well as the transition from linear to circular and regenerative economies and cultures in (mega) cities (Sect. 7.4). In parallel, a new transdisciplinary Minor is developed, called ‘Collaboration for the City of the Future’ (Sect. 7.4).