Organising for Co-Production: Local Interaction Platforms for Urban Sustainability

Perry, B., Patel, Z., Bretzer, Y. N., & Polk, M. (2018). Organising for Co-Production: Local Interaction Platforms for Urban Sustainability. Politics and Governance, 6(1), 189. doi:10.17645/pag.v6i1.1228

Platform
Gothenburg Cape Town Sheffield-Manchester Global
Publication type
Scientific article (peer-reviewed)
DOI Title
Organising for Co-Production: Local Interaction Platforms for Urban Sustainability
Journal
Politics and Governance
ISSN/ISBN
2183-2463
DOI
10.17645/pag.v6i1.1228
Author(s)
Beth Perry Zarina Patel Ylva Norén Bretzer Merritt Polk
Published year
Tags
Co-production Local interaction platforms sustainability

 

Abstract

Urban sustainability is a wicked issue unsuited to management through traditional decision-making structures. Co-productive arrangements, spaces and processes are inscribed in new organisational forms to bridge between diverse forms of knowledge and expertise. This article suggests that <em>local interaction platforms </em>(LIPs)<em> </em>are innovative responses to these challenges, developed in two African and two European cities between 2010 and 2014. Through elaborating the design and practice of the LIPs, the article concludes that the value of this approach lies in its context-sensitivity and iterative flexibility to articulate between internationally shared challenges and distinctive local practices. Six necessary conditions for the evolution of LIPs are presented: anchorage, co-constitution, context-sensitivity, alignment, connection and shared functions. In the context of increased uncertainty, complexity and the demand for transdisciplinary knowledge production, the <em>platform</em> concept has wider relevance in surfacing the challenges and possibilities for more adaptive urban governance.

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