• Energy Research

The global environmental change that characterizes the Anthropocene poses a threat to food systems. Cities increasingly serve as the spaces where civil society, private actors, and local governments come together to strategize toward more sustainable food futures and experiment with new forms of food governance. However, much of the futures literature in the context of sustainability focuses on large-scale, global scenarios. These are important pieces of knowledge, but they often do not effect a change in local perspectives and practices. In this paper we respond to the need for novel futures approaches to help urban coalitions of societal actors create pathways to sustainability transformations. We investigate how existing examples of good practices, or “seeds,” can be used to open up novel, desirable, bottom-up futures in the case study of Kyoto (Japan). Innovative combinations of methodologies (visioning, back-casting, simulation games) are used and assessed in order to create multiple ways of experimenting and engaging with food system futures. Our results consist of a pluriform pathway to a sustainable Kyoto food system. Each method brings in its unique pathway elements: visioning to formulate a desired end goal, back-casting to create a step-by-step action plan, and gaming to practice with the future. The combination of Kyoto-based “seeds” with initiatives from elsewhere and with a new food system governance model (a food policy council) resulted in participants learning about new food system practices, extending their networks, and support for actualizing a food policy council. We conclude that multimethod futures processes that combine existing practices and new modes of governance are a promising new way to outline various pathways for sustainability transformations.

Urban sustainability and food security remain pressing issues for cities across the world. Here, we argue that adapting rewilding to urban contexts unlocks new solutions for societal challenges. Rewilding is an established paradigm in ecological restoration, with the goal of restoring autonomous biotic and abiotic agents and processes. However, urban rewilding is an emerging but under-studied phenomenon that calls for multispecies coexistence and agency. Coupled with multispecies sustainability, urban rewilding can increase the operational autonomy of urban inhabitants through shared human-nonhuman co-stewardship of urban space. In this viewpoint paper, we explore the conceptual implications of rewilding for food security and land use planning across scales and infrastructures in urban settings. We then discuss how urban rewilding would particularly benefit food security across diverse urban contexts and examine some examples.

Les approches politiques conventionnelles mettent l'accent sur les solutions techniques et le changement de comportement individuel, mais les approches politiques fondées sur la pratique offrent une alternative. Ce document examine l'opérationnalisation d'un processus d'élaboration de politiques futures axé sur la pratique. Le processus s'appuie sur la théorie de la pratique pour générer des voies futures durables alternatives et des idées d'intervention politique, et ce faisant, étend le vocabulaire pour les travaux futurs axés sur les politiques. Nous nous concentrons sur trois pratiques ayant des implications pour la durabilité urbaine : l'achat de nourriture, les repas au restaurant et la cuisine maison à Bangkok, en Thaïlande. Un processus en plusieurs phases d'ateliers interconnectés comprenant la vision, l'évaluation de scénarios et les voies de transition a été mis en place avec les acteurs du système alimentaire et les décideurs politiques. Des éléments de jeu de rôle et de narration ont été incorporés pour susciter des connaissances transformatrices et systémiques sur la façon dont les pratiques sont ou pourraient être intégrées dans la vie quotidienne et ont généré des idées politiques pour permettre à de telles pratiques d'émerger à l'avenir. Différentes pratiques ont montré différents degrés d'adaptabilité au processus, en fonction du sens de l'agence des participants et des souvenirs de pratique individuels et communautaires. Cet article contribue à notre compréhension de la façon dont les pratiques futures sont co-construites et comment les politiques pourraient guider les trajectoires des pratiques à l'avenir. L'élaboration de politiques futures axées sur la pratique ouvre la voie à des idées de politiques intégrées, reflétant la reconnaissance croissante des structures de gouvernance intégrées. Los enfoques de políticas convencionales enfatizan las soluciones técnicas y el cambio de comportamiento individual, pero los enfoques de políticas basados en la práctica ofrecen una alternativa. Este documento examina la operacionalización de un proceso de desarrollo de políticas de futuros orientado a la práctica. El proceso se basa en la teoría de la práctica para generar vías futuras sostenibles alternativas e ideas de intervención de políticas, y al hacerlo, amplía el vocabulario para el trabajo de futuros centrado en las políticas. Nos centramos en tres prácticas con implicaciones para la sostenibilidad urbana: comprar alimentos, comer fuera y cocinar en casa en Bangkok, Tailandia. Se promulgó un proceso de múltiples fases de talleres interconectados que incluyen la visión, la evaluación de escenarios y las vías de transición con los actores del sistema alimentario y los responsables de la formulación de políticas. Se incorporaron elementos narrativos y de juego de roles para obtener conocimientos transformadores y sistémicos sobre cómo las prácticas están o podrían estar integradas en la vida cotidiana y se generaron ideas de políticas para permitir que dichas prácticas surjan en el futuro. Las diferentes prácticas mostraron diferentes grados de susceptibilidad al proceso, según el sentido de agencia de los participantes y los recuerdos de las prácticas individuales y comunitarias. Este documento contribuye a nuestra comprensión de cómo se co-construyen las prácticas futuras y cómo las políticas podrían guiar las trayectorias de las prácticas en el futuro. El desarrollo de políticas de futuros orientadas a la práctica abre caminos para ideas de políticas integradas, reflejando el creciente reconocimiento de las estructuras de gobernanza integradas. Conventional policy approaches emphasize technical solutions and individual behavioral change, but practice-based policy approaches offer an alternative. This paper examines the operationalization of a practice-oriented futures policy development process. The process builds on practice theory to generate alternative sustainable future pathways and policy intervention ideas, and in doing so, extends the vocabulary for policy-focused futures work. We focus on three practices with implications for urban sustainability - food purchasing, eating out, and home cooking in Bangkok, Thailand. A multi-phase process of interlinked workshops including visioning, scenario evaluation, and transition pathways was enacted with food system actors and policy makers. Role-play and narrative elements were incorporated to elicit transformative and systems knowledge on how practices are or might be embedded in everyday life and generated policy ideas to enable such practices to emerge in the future. Different practices showed varying degrees of amenability to the process, based on participants' sense of agency and individual and community-based practice memories. This paper contributes to our understanding of how future practices are co-constructed and how policies might guide practice trajectories in the future. Practice-oriented futures policy development opens pathways for integrated policy ideas, mirroring the growing recognition for integrated governance structures. تؤكد مناهج السياسة التقليدية على الحلول التقنية والتغيير السلوكي الفردي، لكن مناهج السياسة القائمة على الممارسة تقدم بديلاً. تبحث هذه الورقة في تفعيل عملية تطوير سياسة العقود الآجلة الموجهة نحو الممارسة. تعتمد العملية على نظرية الممارسة لتوليد مسارات مستقبلية مستدامة بديلة وأفكار للتدخل السياسي، وبذلك، توسع المفردات للعمل المستقبلي الذي يركز على السياسات. نركز على ثلاث ممارسات لها آثار على الاستدامة الحضرية - شراء الطعام وتناول الطعام في الخارج والطهي المنزلي في بانكوك، تايلاند. تم سن عملية متعددة المراحل من ورش العمل المترابطة بما في ذلك الرؤية وتقييم السيناريو ومسارات الانتقال مع الجهات الفاعلة في النظام الغذائي وواضعي السياسات. تم دمج عناصر لعب الأدوار والعناصر السردية لاستنباط المعرفة التحويلية والنظم حول كيفية أو قد تكون الممارسات جزءًا لا يتجزأ من الحياة اليومية وتوليد أفكار سياسية لتمكين مثل هذه الممارسات من الظهور في المستقبل. أظهرت الممارسات المختلفة درجات متفاوتة من قابلية العملية، بناءً على إحساس المشاركين بالقوة وذكريات الممارسة الفردية والمجتمعية. تساهم هذه الورقة في فهمنا لكيفية البناء المشترك للممارسات المستقبلية وكيف يمكن للسياسات أن توجه مسارات الممارسة في المستقبل. يفتح تطوير السياسات المستقبلية الموجهة نحو الممارسة مسارات لأفكار السياسة المتكاملة، مما يعكس الاعتراف المتزايد بهياكل الحوكمة المتكاملة.

Non-technical summaryThe sustainability concept seeks to balance how present and future generations of humans meet their needs. But because nature is viewed only as a resource, sustainability fails to recognize that humans and other living beings depend on each other for their well-being. We therefore argue that true sustainability can only be achieved if the interdependent needs of all species of current and future generations are met, and propose calling this ‘multispecies sustainability’. We explore the concept through visualizations and scenarios, then consider how it might be applied through case studies involving bees and healthy green spaces.

Simulation games are increasingly popular tools for opening up future imaginaries, especially in the arena of sustainability policy-making and decision support. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the potential power of games in anticipatory governance. We argue that the utility of simulation games in support of anticipatory climate governance can be greatly increased when game processes are consciously designed to impact present day planning and action. At the same time, game designers with the intention to support or intervene in governance and policy-making inevitably enter political arenas and bear responsibility for under- standing and managing their influence at the science-policy interface. We present two case studies: a game simulating a sustainable food policy council with food system actors in Kyoto, Japan, and a game focused on the exploration and imagination of the global impacts of climate tipping points aimed at participants of the global climate negotiation community. Each case study represents a specific logic for translating game play into real- world impacts at different governance scales with distinct political implications. Based on these two case studies, we develop principles for the design and evaluation of simulation games that seek to impact anticipatory climate governance, based on five lenses: (1) purpose and positionality; (2) conceptions of the future and imaginaries; (3) beneficiaries, key stakeholders and participants; (4) the politics of game features and design; and (5) evaluation.

Urban green spaces can provide relaxation, exercise, social interaction, and many other benefits for their communities, towns, and cities. However, green spaces in hot and humid regions risk being underutilized by residents unless thermal environments are designed to be sufficiently comfortable. Understanding what conditions are needed for comfortable outdoor spaces, particularly how people feel in regard to their thermal environment, is vital in designing spaces for public use. Traditional gardens are excellent examples of successful microclimate design from which we can learn, as they are developed over the generations through observation and modification. This study analyzed how Japanese gardens affect people’s thermal stress on extremely hot summer days. Meteorological data was collected in three Japanese gardens, and human thermal comfort was evaluated through physiological equivalent temperature (PET). Statistical analysis examined the relationship between spatial configurations of the gardens and thermal comfort. Our study revealed that Japanese gardens can efficiently ameliorate thermal stress. Spatial analysis showed that garden elements affect thermal comfort variously depending on time of the day and spatial distribution.