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- Smit, Warren, et al.
(författare)
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The challenge of conflicting rationalities about urban development: Experiences from Mistra Urban Futures’ transdisciplinary urban research
- 2019
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Ingår i: Trialog 2019 Conference: “Whose knowledge counts? The meaning of co-productive processes for urban development and urban research”, Institute of Urban Planning and Design (Städtebau Institut) at the University of Stuttgart, 7–9 November 2019, Stuttgart, Germany.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reflects on ten years of transdisciplinary urban research by Mistra Urban Futures. Mistra Urban Futures was established in 2010 as a global centre focusing on the co-production of knowledge for more just and sustainable cities. The core partners in Mistra Urban Futures are from four countries (Sweden, the United Kingdom, Kenya and South Africa), and the centre also works in two other countries (India and Argentina). In addition to undertaking local knowledge co-production work in each partner city, Mistra Urban Futures has also linked up local work into international transdisciplinary projects. The paper focuses on one of the key challenges that Mistra Urban Futures has faced in its work: in addition to the competing interests and agendas of participants in co-production processes, there are also often deeper underlying conflicting (or diverging) rationalities about urban development. Many of the key concepts and substantive issues relating to making cities more just and sustainable are highly contested. Within cities, people and organisations from different sectors and different disciplines often have very different understandings of what the problems and solutions are, driven by ideological, educational, contextual and personal factors. These differences can be even more polarised between different cities and countries, for example between cities in the global North and global South and between cities in countries with different political cultures. For example, there can be deep divisions about the fundamental nature of the problem (poverty, inequity, lack of economic growth, lack of political empowerment, unsustainability, lack of government capacity, etc.) and the ultimate goals and objectives of urban development interventions (such as equity, economic growth, maintaining the status quo or radical change). In addition, concepts such as such as “fairness”, “justice” and “resilience”, and substantive issues such as “public transport”, “sustainable urban food systems” and “tackling climate change”, can mean very different things to different people and in different places. This paper explores these challenges and reflects on the various approaches adopted by Mistra Urban Futures to facilitate the understanding of these differences and identify commonalities and overlaps of interest. For example, most of the Mistra Urban Futures projects had initial phases to identify and understand the different views of participants in order to be able to identify common ground for collaboration. In some cases, the different terminologies and concepts used by people from different sectors or disciplines required developing a common conceptual vocabulary during this initial phase. In one particular project in Cape Town, the research method included the mapping of the different rationalities of key stakeholders as a basis for identifying opportunities for further collaboration. Having a diversity of rationalities and approaches often stimulates creativity, resulting in the development of innovative methodologies, policies and practices. Ultimately, understanding and engaging with the different rationalities of participants in co-production processes is essential for different actors to successfully work together to co-produce and operationalise knowledge for more just and sustainable cities.
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| 2. |
- Smit, Warren, et al.
(författare)
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The challenge of conflicting rationalities about urban development – Experiences from Mistra Urban Futures’ transdisciplinary urban research : Die Herausforderung widersprüchlicher Rationalitäten in der Stadtentwicklung: Erfahrungen aus der transdisziplinären Stadtforschung von ‘Mistra Urban Futures‘
- 2021
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Ingår i: Trialog – A Journal for Planning and Building in a Global Context. - 0724-6234. ; 137:2, s. 31-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reflects on ten years of transdisciplinary urban research by Mistra Urban Futures, a global centre focusing on the co-production of knowledge for more just and sustainable cities across the Global South and Global North. The paper focuses on one of the key challenges that Mistra Urban Futures has faced in its work: in addition to the competing interests and agendas of participants in co-production processes, there are also often deeper underlying conflicting rationalities about many of the key concepts and substantive issues relating to making cities more just and sustainable, driven by ideological, educational, contextual and personal factors. These differences can be even more polarised between different cities and countries, including deep divisions regarding the fundamental nature of the problem, the ultimate goals and objectives of urban development interventions, and the key underlying concepts. This paper explores these challenges and reflects on the various approaches adopted by Mistra Urban Futures to facilitate the understanding of these differences and identify commonalities and overlaps of interest. Ultimately, understanding and engaging with the different rationalities of participants in co-production processes is essential for different actors to work together to co-produce and operationalise knowledge for cities that are more just and sustainable. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Der vorliegende Artikel reflektiert zehn Jahre transdisziplinäre Stadtforschung von Mistra Urban Futures, einem globalen Zentrum mit Schwerpunkt auf Koproduktion von Wissen für gerechtere und nachhaltigere Städte im globalen Norden und Süden. Der Artikel konzentriert sich auf eine der Kernherausforderungen, mit der sich Mistra Urban Futures in seiner Arbeit konfrontiert sah: Zusätzlich zu den konkurrieren-den Interessen und Agenden der an Koproduktion Beteiligten liegen häufig gegensätzliche Denkweisen zugrunde. Schlüsselkonzepte und substanzielle Fragen in Bezug darauf, wie Städte gerechter und nachhaltiger gemacht werden können, unterscheiden sich je nach Einfluss von ideologischen, bildungs- und kontextbezogenen sowie persönlichen Faktoren mitunter deutlich. Diese Unterschiede können zwischen verschiedenen Städten und Ländern noch stärker hervortreten, bis hin zu einer tiefen Spaltung in Bezug auf die Natur des zugrundeliegenden Problems, die übergeordneten Ziele sowie den Zweck urbaner Entwicklungsmaßnahmen. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Herausforderungen und reflektiert über die verschiedenen Ansätze, die Mistra Urban Futures verfolgte, um das Verständnis dieser Unterschiede zu fördern und Gemeinsamkeiten und geteilte Interessen zu identifizieren. Letztlich erweist es sich für die verschiedenen an Koproduktion beteiligten Ak-teure als unerlässlich, die unterschiedlichen Denkweisen zu verstehen und sich auf sie einzustellen, um produktiv zusammenzuarbeiten und Wissen für gerechtere und nachhaltigere Städte zu operationalisieren.
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