Exploring the Scope for Just Transition: Striking a Viable Balance Between Effective and Just Transition in Urban Climate Governance

At the same time as the consequences of climate change are felt more acutely, the divide between positions in the climate debate grows deeper, making effective urban climate policies harder to realise than ever. This dilemma serves as a stimulus for this paper. We ask: Which values and claims drive social movements’ engagement in compact city development? By applying a coherent theoretical framework for social justice to capture and compare the arguments of proactive movements (environmental organisations and sustainable community groups) and reactive movements (action groups against densification and toll rings) in four Scandinavian cities, we contribute new knowledge on the ‘justice pluralism’ underlying diverse protests to urban climate policies. Interestingly, the analysis of this qualitative empirical material shows that the difference between seemingly adversarial positions is smaller than anticipated and that striking a viable balance between effective and just transition is possible. It necessitates, first, recognising and accommodating pluralistic values and divergent positions; second, critically examining normalised approaches to urban development policy; and third, implementing collaborative governance frameworks that incorporate dissenting voices as co-creators of solutions. This result stands in contrast to the often-dichotomous approach to urban climate governance and just transition found in the literature. Comparison of proactive and reactive protests provides a more nuanced, pluralistic understanding of the challenges cities face. We argue that a more balanced approach to transition processes is critical if cities are to prevent backlash, build legitimacy, and secure effective implementation of urban climate policies. Future research should explore these concerns in greater depth, examining their applicability across diverse geographic contexts and thematic domains.