Social learning for sustainability special issue (#journal)

Special issue: Social learning towards sustainability: problematic, perspectives and promise

 Six articles linked by the common thread that sustainability is not a destiny to reach, but a continuous learning path towards transformation that is profound (e.g. affecting moral standards and value systems), transversal (e.g. requiring the involvement of individuals, groups and collectives) and counter-hegemonic (e.g. requiring the exposure and questioning of stubborn routines). The aim of the special issue is to assess the added-value of a social learning perspective from at least three different ‘disciplinary’ perspectives: systems innovation, natural resource management, and environmental education.

Success factors in transition communities (#journal)

Learning from success—Toward evidence-informed sustainability transitions in communities

People around the world initiate transitions toward sustainability on various levels of society. Each initiative presents learning opportunities to build robust transitions. Little empirical research has been conducted on how the transition context and process lead to particular outcomes. This article presents an analytical-evaluative framework for appraising the sustainability of transition outcomes and reconstructing transition pathways in order to identify critical success factors. Ashton Hayes in the U.K. serves as an illustrative case study. The ultimate goal is to derive, accumulated over many studies, evidence-informed guidelines to improve the effectiveness of transitions.

Linking community initiatives and local government (#journal)

(Dis)connected communities and sustainable place-making

Despite a recent surge in the UK in 'sustainable communities' policy discourse, many community-led sustainability initiatives remain fragmented and disconnected from local government strategies. How can community- and government-led sustainability initiatives be better integrated? With particular reference to Stroud, England and Cardiff, Wales, this paper explores the twin processes of disconnection and connection between community activists and local state actors. It concludes that for community activists and policy-makers alike, there are many mutual benefits to co-production.