Från kunskap till förändring: En explorativ studie inifrån fyra förändringspraktiker för ett mer hållbart Göteborg

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the growing literature of sustainability transitions and sustainability practices for change towards sustainability. The study aims to explore how a deeper understanding of sustainability practices may contribute to bridging the gap between knowledge and transformative change. To do so, the qualitative study brings forward empirical insights from interviews with actors engaged in a wide range of practices that outspokenly strive toward transition and/or sustainability in the Gothenburg region, Sweden. The practices studied include a long-term environmental- and climate program, a social and cultural transition movement, an agricultural cooperative, and a regional city development project. Focus lays on how sustainability as a form of reproductive knowledge is perceived within these practices, and how the link between that and how change for sustainability is brought. The theoretical analysis highlights the underlying ontological assumptions influencing and steering certain types of sustainability transitions. Central to this study is the concept of knowledge, change and agency. Therefore, the theoretical framework integrates critical insights from political ecology to address the role of power in sustainability issues and practices. The result suggests that despite a common vision to bring change for sustainability, the road is not given, and change is described rather differently. It acknowledges that context is a major factor and concludes that depending on the understanding of the “problem”, individual vs structural change is determined. The practices represent a pluralism of knowledges and the analysis uses the different environmental interest to forefront relations of power embedded in change for sustainability. Finally, the study suggests that these insights are critical for guiding transformative change.