Source: Marker Municipality

UTC and transformative change

Urban Transformative Capacity (UTC) is the fundamental ability of cities to “change within and across multiple socio-ecological and socio-technical systems embedded in cities” in order to practice sustainable development (Wolfram 2016). Wolfram (2016) identifies 10 components that make up UTC. Wolfram’s framework highlights the importance of collective agency and cross-sectoral collaboration in fostering sustainable urban transitions. We have summarised these components into the following key abilities that cities need to develop to deliver transformative change (Table 1):

Wolfram’s 10 components (mixed order)	Summary of capacities	Transformation-oriented innovation areas
4. System(s) awareness and memory 9. Agency levels: working across agency levels 10. Scale levels: working across political and administrative levels	Capacity for systemic change: to integrate changes across various sectors and policy areas	Structures
8. Learning/reflexivity: social learning	Capacity for reflexivity: to critically assess and reflect on urban progress and adapt strategies based on new insights or evolving circumstances	Practices
2. Transformative leadership 5. Sustainability foresight 7. Innovation embedding: removing barriers to innovative practices; embedding them into routines	Capacity to learn and innovate: to generate new knowledge, experiment with new ideas, and adapt to challenges.	Practices
1. Inclusive and multiform urban governance 3. Empowered communities of practice 6. CoP experiments: diverse community-based experiments with disruptive solutions (ULLs)	Capacity for Inclusive and Adaptive Governance: to implement urban governance structures that involve multiple stakeholders (governments, citizens, businesses) in decision-making processes	Relationships

Table 1. Summary of UTC and its link to transformation-oriented innovation policy. Adapted from Wolfram (2016).

TANGO-W project: Building bridges to sustainable urban futures

The seven TANGO-W ULLs offer different contexts for experiments that address the food-energy-water nexus in Austria, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

Similar to how Geels (2011) provides a multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions, the TANGO-W project works at the niche level by establishing sites of innovation (the seven ULLs). These ULLs bring together public and private actors, civil society, and academia to develop and implement solutions for climate change at the local level. The insights gained from each ULL implementation provide lessons on how local governments can modify their structures and practices to enhance relationships with external stakeholders, thereby fostering innovation and transformation. Such experiences can enable radical change and are invaluable for crafting policies that facilitate sustainable transitions, allowing local efforts to contribute to global responses, and triggering significant shifts in public administration.