Building Actor-Centric Transformative Capacity Through City-University Partnerships

Authors

Lauren Withycombe Keeler, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Fletcher Beaudoin, Portland State UniversityFollow
Arnim Wiek, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Beatrice John, Leuphana University of LüneburgFollow
Amy M. Lerner, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoFollow
Richard Beecroft, Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyFollow
Kaidi Tamm, Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyFollow
Andreas Seebacher, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Daniel J. Lang, Leuphana University of LüneburgFollow
Braden Kay, City of Tempe
Nigel Forrest, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Published In

Ambio

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

5-1-2019

Abstract

Cities worldwide are rising to the challenge of sustainable development, calling for large-scale and fast-paced transformations towards sustainability. Urban sustainability challenges are now being reframed as a lack of capacity of individuals and organizations to carry out such socio-technical transformations. This article expands on transformative capacity literature by elucidating the concept of actor-centric transformative capacity. It focuses on the unique role city-university partnerships (CUPs) can play in catalyzing and supporting effective urban sustainability transformations. Two case studies on CUPs in Portland, Oregon and Tempe, Arizona are used to identify determinants of actor-centric transformative capacity, their role in the transformative capacity of urban systems, and how they are built through CUPs. The article concludes with strategies for building effective CUPs capable of building actor-centric transformative capacity among university actors and city administrators.

Description

© Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2018

Locate the Document

http://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1117-9

DOI

10.1007/s13280-018-1117-9

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28776

Citation Details

Keeler, L. W., Beaudoin, F., Wiek, A., John, B., Lerner, A. M., Beecroft, R., … Forrest, N. (2019). Building actor-centric transformative capacity through city-university partnerships. Ambio, 48(5), 529–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1117-9