Experimenting with sustainability transformations: A study of Urban Living Labs in the food, water and energy nexus
(2023)- Abstract
- Scholars and practitioners increasingly emphasize the importance of transdisciplinary and experimental approaches for understanding and addressing sustainability challenges. While there is widespread agreement that human society must undergo deep and radical changes, or so-called transformation, how transformation happens depends on multiple and dynamic factors in local contexts. In this thesis, I explore how to advance experimental transdisciplinary sustainability approaches to facilitate the collaborative development of solutions to sustainability problems and contribute to transformation. I use a transdisciplinary and real-world experimentation research approach called Urban Living Labs (ULL) that focuses on specific sustainability... (More)
- Scholars and practitioners increasingly emphasize the importance of transdisciplinary and experimental approaches for understanding and addressing sustainability challenges. While there is widespread agreement that human society must undergo deep and radical changes, or so-called transformation, how transformation happens depends on multiple and dynamic factors in local contexts. In this thesis, I explore how to advance experimental transdisciplinary sustainability approaches to facilitate the collaborative development of solutions to sustainability problems and contribute to transformation. I use a transdisciplinary and real-world experimentation research approach called Urban Living Labs (ULL) that focuses on specific sustainability challenges in the food-water-energy nexus. I explore the intersection of these to understand how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research can contribute to the co-production of action and solution- oriented knowledge. Moreover, I use a combination of interdisciplinary, participatory, and reflexive methods to investigate the processes of transdisciplinary sustainability research and the roles of researchers in these processes.
In five papers, I address issues related to research design and planning, navigating the day-to-day conduct of transdisciplinary collaborations, knowledge transfer and sharing, and individual transformative capacity. In the first paper, I examine urban FWE nexus research to understand if and how solutions and their implementation are approached at a ‘local’ level, with implications for research design. The second paper considers FWE nexus research broadly to develop a heuristic for local-centered action- and solution-oriented research with key roles for inter- and transdisciplinary research and collaborations. The third paper focuses on navigating long-term transdisciplinary collaborations by applying the ULL approach in the context of local work with craft breweries. The fourth paper reconsiders transdisciplinary case-study evaluation and tackles the issues of knowledge transfer and sharing between cases. The fifth paper explores the development of transformative capacity in researchers who engage in transdisciplinary experimentation. Overall, this thesis advances transdisciplinary experimentation research toward developing and inhabiting spaces that both generate and employ transformative potential to address complex sustainability problems.
Based on the outcomes of the papers, I discuss and challenge the position of the transdisciplinary academic by prioritizing not just what they know but who they are and how they act and interact. I argue that transdisciplinary sustainability research is an embodied practice, where it is more than just a methodological approach but akin to an identity with associated values and practices. The relevance of this work reaches into spaces of collaboration and negotiation for small or broad sustainability change, where sustainability requires us not only to do differently but also to be different. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Forskare och praktiker betonar alltmer vikten av tvärvetenskapliga och experimentella sätt att förstå och bemöta hållbarhetsutmaningar. Det finns en bred enighet om att samhället måste genomgå djupa och radikala förändringar, alltså omvandling (transformation). Men detta berorpå många dynamiska faktorer i lokala sammanhang. I denna avhandling utforskar jag hur man kan främja experimentella tvärvetenskapliga hållbarhetsmetoder för att underlätta utvecklingen av gemensamma lösningar på hållbarhetsproblem och bidra till omvandling. Jag använder en tvärvetenskaplig och aktuell forskningsansats som kallas "Urban Living Labs" (ULL) som fokuserar på specifika hållbarhetsutmaningar inom mat-vatten-energi-nexusen. Jag utforskar samspelet mellan... (More)
- Forskare och praktiker betonar alltmer vikten av tvärvetenskapliga och experimentella sätt att förstå och bemöta hållbarhetsutmaningar. Det finns en bred enighet om att samhället måste genomgå djupa och radikala förändringar, alltså omvandling (transformation). Men detta berorpå många dynamiska faktorer i lokala sammanhang. I denna avhandling utforskar jag hur man kan främja experimentella tvärvetenskapliga hållbarhetsmetoder för att underlätta utvecklingen av gemensamma lösningar på hållbarhetsproblem och bidra till omvandling. Jag använder en tvärvetenskaplig och aktuell forskningsansats som kallas "Urban Living Labs" (ULL) som fokuserar på specifika hållbarhetsutmaningar inom mat-vatten-energi-nexusen. Jag utforskar samspelet mellan dessa för att förstå hur interdisciplinär och tvärvetenskaplig forskning kan bidra till samproduktion av handlings- och lösningsinriktad kunskap. Dessutom använder jag en kombination av interdisciplinära, deltagande och reflexiva metoder för att undersöka processerna för tvärvetenskaplig hållbarhetsforskning och forskarnas roller i dessa processer.
I fem artiklar behandlar jag frågor som rör forskningsdesign, planering och genomförande av tvärvetenskapliga samarbeten, och hur kunskap och omvandlingskapacitet delas och överförs. I den första artikeln granskar jag den existerande forskningen på mat-vatten-energi-nexus i stadsområden för att förstå om och hur aktörer applicerar lösningar på en "lokal" nivå, och vilka konsekvenser det har för forskningsdesignen. Den andra artikeln behandlar forskning om mat-vatten-energi-nexus generellt för att utveckla en heuristik för handlings- och lösninginriktad forskning som fokuserar på lokala nivåer med där inter- och tvärvetenskaplig forskning och samarbeten är viktiga. Den tredje artikeln fokuserar på att hur långsiktiga tvärvetenskapliga samarbeten navigeras. Jag tillämpar ULL ramverket i ett arbete med hantverksbryggerier på lokal nivå. Den fjärde artikeln omvärderar hur tvärvetenskapliga case-studier utvärderas och tar upp frågor om överföring och delning av kunskap mellan olika cases. Den femte artikeln fokuserar på utvecklingen av transformationskapacitet hos forskare som engagerar sig i tvärvetenskaplig experimentell forskning. Sammantaget främjar denna avhandling tvärvetenskaplig experimentell forskning mot att utveckla och bebo utrymmen som både genererar och använder sig av omvandlingspotential för att hantera komplexa hållbarhetsproblem.
Baserat på resultaten från artiklarna diskuterar och utmanar jag den tvärvetenskapliga akademikerns position genom att prioritera inte bara vad de vet utan även vilka de är och hur de agerar och interagerar. Jag argumenterar för att tvärvetenskaplig hållbarhetsforskning är en praktis som handlar om mer än bara ett metodologiskt tillvägagångssätt, utan snarare att det är en identitet med tillhörande värderingar och praktik. Denna avhandling har betydelse för samarbeten och navigering av både små och breda hållbarhetsförändringar, där hållbarhet kräver av oss att inte bara agera annorlunda utan också vara annorlunda.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/cbc1bbe3-cf3a-4c08-9e25-e2a9680055ce
- author
- Wahl, Darin LU
- supervisor
-
- Barry Ness LU
- Christine Wamsler LU
- opponent
-
- Associate Professor Sejersen, Frank, University of Copenhagen
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-09
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Transdisciplinary sustainability research, Urban Living Labs, experimentation, co-production, participatory methods, transformation, pluralism, food water energy nexus
- pages
- 118 pages
- publisher
- Lund University (Media-Tryck)
- defense location
- Ostrom, Josephson, Biskopsgatan 5, Lund
- defense date
- 2023-10-06 13:15:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-8039-791-9
- 978-91-8039-792-6
- project
- Globally and LOCally-sustainable food-water-energy innovation in Urban Living Labs
- Experimenting with sustainability transformations: A study of Urban Living Labs in the food, water and energy nexus
- TRANSFORM
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cbc1bbe3-cf3a-4c08-9e25-e2a9680055ce
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-11 12:30:06
- date last changed
- 2023-10-19 11:31:07
@phdthesis{cbc1bbe3-cf3a-4c08-9e25-e2a9680055ce,
abstract = {{Scholars and practitioners increasingly emphasize the importance of transdisciplinary and experimental approaches for understanding and addressing sustainability challenges. While there is widespread agreement that human society must undergo deep and radical changes, or so-called transformation, how transformation happens depends on multiple and dynamic factors in local contexts. In this thesis, I explore how to advance experimental transdisciplinary sustainability approaches to facilitate the collaborative development of solutions to sustainability problems and contribute to transformation. I use a transdisciplinary and real-world experimentation research approach called Urban Living Labs (ULL) that focuses on specific sustainability challenges in the food-water-energy nexus. I explore the intersection of these to understand how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research can contribute to the co-production of action and solution- oriented knowledge. Moreover, I use a combination of interdisciplinary, participatory, and reflexive methods to investigate the processes of transdisciplinary sustainability research and the roles of researchers in these processes.<br/>In five papers, I address issues related to research design and planning, navigating the day-to-day conduct of transdisciplinary collaborations, knowledge transfer and sharing, and individual transformative capacity. In the first paper, I examine urban FWE nexus research to understand if and how solutions and their implementation are approached at a ‘local’ level, with implications for research design. The second paper considers FWE nexus research broadly to develop a heuristic for local-centered action- and solution-oriented research with key roles for inter- and transdisciplinary research and collaborations. The third paper focuses on navigating long-term transdisciplinary collaborations by applying the ULL approach in the context of local work with craft breweries. The fourth paper reconsiders transdisciplinary case-study evaluation and tackles the issues of knowledge transfer and sharing between cases. The fifth paper explores the development of transformative capacity in researchers who engage in transdisciplinary experimentation. Overall, this thesis advances transdisciplinary experimentation research toward developing and inhabiting spaces that both generate and employ transformative potential to address complex sustainability problems.<br/>Based on the outcomes of the papers, I discuss and challenge the position of the transdisciplinary academic by prioritizing not just what they know but who they are and how they act and interact. I argue that transdisciplinary sustainability research is an embodied practice, where it is more than just a methodological approach but akin to an identity with associated values and practices. The relevance of this work reaches into spaces of collaboration and negotiation for small or broad sustainability change, where sustainability requires us not only to do differently but also to be different.}},
author = {{Wahl, Darin}},
isbn = {{978-91-8039-791-9}},
keywords = {{Transdisciplinary sustainability research; Urban Living Labs; experimentation; co-production; participatory methods; transformation; pluralism; food water energy nexus}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Lund University (Media-Tryck)}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Experimenting with sustainability transformations: A study of Urban Living Labs in the food, water and energy nexus}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/158089214/Thesis_Darin_Wahl_LUCRIS.pdf}},
year = {{2023}},
}