Premises, practices and politics of co-creation for urban sustainability transitions

Co-creation is becoming a widely used mode of urban governance and research for city-making and city-transitioning being conceptually entangled with experimentation, innovation and collaboration. In this paper, we address three questions to systematize knowledge about and advancing the research and practice of co-creation: Why co-create? How to co-create? With whom to co-create? We first present three distinct premises of co-creation that respond to the question of why to co-create, and mark advantages of co-creation in comparison to participatory processes: bridging and weaving knowledge for place-based urban transitions, emancipating urban policy and planning, and advancing research to transformative and transdisciplinary approaches that are socially relevant. We then present key practices and skills required for engaging in and organizing co-creation processes (i.e., how to co-create). Next to advocacy, communication, leadership, and organizational skills, we identify that creativity, playfulness, emotional intelligence, receptivity, and collaborative learning are important, yet often overlooked, skills and capabilities for co-creation. Finally, we investigate the politics of co-creation through the lens who is included in co-creation and how (i.e., with whom to co-create). We discuss future research on co-creation and its applications centered on measuring its impact against its premises while recognizing the importance of having different metrics and reflexive measures that can evaluate its deep impact and its relation to urban transitions. • Co-creation is a key epistemological foundation for the new urban science or science of cities. • Co-creation is a novel form of governance that supports evidence-based policy making in gearing up innovative pathways for urban transitions. • Co-creation requires careful research design, practice and organization.

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Publication Details

Journal
Urban Transformations
Published
2025-05-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42854-025-00075-9
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
27.61

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article

Premises, practices and politics of co-creation for urban sustainability transitions

Leen Gorissen, Niki Frantzeskaki, Katharina Hölscher, Julia M. Wittmayer et al.
10 citations
Urban Transformations
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
27.61
article

Premises, practices and politics of co-creation for urban sustainability transitions

Leen Gorissen, Niki Frantzeskaki, Katharina Hölscher, Julia M. Wittmayer, Tadhg MacIntyre, Stuart Connop, Marcus Collier, Timo von Wirth, Samuel Tabory, Sara Borgström, Alessandro Ossola, Gil Penha‐Lopes, Marcelline Bonneau, Thomas L. Wachtel, Adina Dumitru, İdil Gaziulusoy, Davide Geneletti, Ina Säumel, Patricia Albulescu, Paula Vandergert, Meike Levin-Keitel, Peter Vos, Siobhán McQuaid, Irina Mascinga
article en
10 citations

Abstract

Co-creation is becoming a widely used mode of urban governance and research for city-making and city-transitioning being conceptually entangled with experimentation, innovation and collaboration. In this paper, we address three questions to systematize knowledge about and advancing the research and practice of co-creation: Why co-create? How to co-create? With whom to co-create? We first present three distinct premises of co-creation that respond to the question of why to co-create, and mark advantages of co-creation in comparison to participatory processes: bridging and weaving knowledge for place-based urban transitions, emancipating urban policy and planning, and advancing research to transformative and transdisciplinary approaches that are socially relevant. We then present key practices and skills required for engaging in and organizing co-creation processes (i.e., how to co-create). Next to advocacy, communication, leadership, and organizational skills, we identify that creativity, playfulness, emotional intelligence, receptivity, and collaborative learning are important, yet often overlooked, skills and capabilities for co-creation. Finally, we investigate the politics of co-creation through the lens who is included in co-creation and how (i.e., with whom to co-create). We discuss future research on co-creation and its applications centered on measuring its impact against its premises while recognizing the importance of having different metrics and reflexive measures that can evaluate its deep impact and its relation to urban transitions. • Co-creation is a key epistemological foundation for the new urban science or science of cities. • Co-creation is a novel form of governance that supports evidence-based policy making in gearing up innovative pathways for urban transitions. • Co-creation requires careful research design, practice and organization.

Urban TransformationsVol. 7(1)
Universidade da Coruña (ES), University of Lisbon (PT), University of East London (GB), National University of Ireland, Maynooth (IE), University of Trento (IT), Utrecht University (NL), TU Dortmund University (DE), Trinity College Dublin (IE), University of Minnesota System (US), West University of Timişoara (RO), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE), Clinical Research Solutions (US), Klinikum Frankfurt Höchst (DE), Cardiovascular Center Frankfurt (DE), Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (BE), Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (BE), University of California, Davis (US), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE), Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL), Aalto University (FI)
National Science Foundation, Dipartimenti di Eccellenza, Biodiversa+, European Commission, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, Naturvårdsverket, Vetenskapsrådet, Norges Forskningsråd, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
27.61
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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