Assessing degrowth transformative capacity of urban Doughnut Economics initiatives in Amsterdam

Abstract Cities have been identified as critical agents in a social-ecological transformation (SET) oriented at curbing environmental degradation and resolving social inequities. In a SET context, Doughnut Economics (DE) emerged as a guiding framework for alternative economic thinking oriented at a safe and just place for humanity. With a notable increase in the number of DE initiatives, including a variety of urban collectives, their transformative potential will depend on whether urban DE initiatives challenge or reproduce growth-dependent urban regimes. Based on recent advancements in the conceptualization of degrowth transformative capacity (DTC) in a SET context, this paper applies an existing DTC framework to a case study of ten DE initiatives in Amsterdam. With a self-assessment survey and semi-structured interviews, this research aimed at transdisciplinary learning if and how urban DE initiatives contribute to SET. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that degrowth transformative capacity varies significantly among individual DE initiatives in Amsterdam, with only few initiatives showing a balanced set of transformative capacities, but that their network structure strengthens pooling and sharing of critical resources, learning and empowerment. However, in view of their growth-agnosticism, we recommend complementing DTC assessments of DE initiatives with global outcome assessments oriented at SET from an urban perspective. In terms of methodology, we recommend advancing the DTC framework towards a more pronounced capacity for ‘unmaking strategies’, in order to also assess DE initiatives’ capacity to challenge and curb growth-oriented institutions in urban contexts.