New open access paper! Regenerative city-regions: a new conceptual framework

The city-regional scale is increasingly being considered the most suitable level for planning and development, yet city-regions have often been established for purely economic reasons in the UK. This paper argues that city-regions are not mere socioeconomic units through which competitiveness can be achieved, but also rich, socioecological spaces. Although the progressive regionalist literature has taken significant steps in this direction, concerns remain that critical contemporary issues such as environmental sustainability, cultural viability, social exclusion or political (dis)empowerment have not been addressed in a holistic way. We attempt to advance the debate and overcome some of the shortcomings by connecting progressive regionalism with two other literature strands: collaborative governance and regenerative development. Based on the synergies found, we design a conceptual framework that can be used to study, understand and improve policy processes and practice, paving pathways towards regenerative city-regions.

Investigating togetherness in a more-than-human society: taking some SUSPLACE lessons to the University of Lapland

By Sara Grenni & Angela Moriggi This past November, for the first time since our arrival to Finland, we brought some SUSPLACE vibes to Lapland! It took a pleasant 12 hours night train ride to get to Rovaniemi, where the annual colloquium of the Finnish Society for Environmental Social Sciences (YHYS) took place from November … Read more

Overcoming the fear of the page: the SUSPLACE Children Book’s learning journey continues.

Written by Angela Moriggi Editing and inspiration: Kelli Rose Pearson, Lorena Axinte, Alessandro Vasta, Anastasia Papangelou, Marta Nieto Romero. How can we convey the value of interdependence without falling into cheesiness? How do we advocate for re-appreciation of traditional textiles without being overly didactic? How can we talk about urban regeneration with a hint of … Read more

The WasteLab: semi-finalist of the European Social Innovation Competition!

The ideas, people and projects we get to know through SUSPLACE encourage us to embark on other bold adventures!   You can think of The WasteLab as such an offshoot – one that has been ignited by the European Social Innovation Competition. This year’s call is entitled ‘Re:think local’ and seeks to find the most innovative projects that empower young people to participate … Read more

Learning the Language of Story

The Call for Adventure Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away… Actually in this galaxy. On this planet, in fact. Right over in a picturesque Dutch city called Utrecht… A gang of six intrepid wannabe earth warriors/ sustainability researchers*, gathered to learn how to wield a secret power (well, maybe not … Read more

Three months among the guardians of future generations

Being an MSCA Innovative Training Network, SUSPLACE offers us a chance to work for short periods of time with the project partners. Since the Welsh Government is one of the non-academic partners, I was based in the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office for three months in 2017. An unexpectedly friendly environment I felt welcomed in the Future Generations … Read more

Help us harness the power of storytelling!

Do you believe in the power of stories and images to communicate sustainability science? We are asking for help to realise a SUSPLACE children’s book for sustainable place-shaping! Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain something to a 6 year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” In the field of sustainability science, we often face … Read more

Never stop experimenting! Introducing the SUSPLACE Toolkit on Arts-Based Methods for Transformative Engagement

Written by Angela Moriggi and Kelli R. Pearson “The only way to approach such a period in which uncertainty is high and one cannot predict what the future holds, is not predict, but to experiment and act inventively and exuberantly via diverse adventures in living” ~ C.S. Holling In October 2016, six of us got together … Read more

Snapchatters, here I come! Talking sustainability with teens (Part I)

by Angela Moriggi *The Italian version of this blog post was published on November 30, 2017 on the website of Respect Equality When my colleague Lorena joked about her troubled efforts catching up with nowadays youngsters’ social media, at first I didn´t give it too much of a thought. Her research specifically tries to give … Read more

OuiShare Fest Paris 2017 – A festival of ideas and an ode to collaboration

OuiShare Fest, ‘not your typical conference’. Never has a conference’s tagline so aptly described the experience an attendee is in for. There were no stuffy boardrooms, no saran wrapped sandwiches, no dry monologues from experts — none of that. It was really a festival. A festival of ideas and an ode to collaboration. As OuiShare … Read more