Exploring the role of frame analysis in promoting inclusive climate action: Insights from the GALLANT project

Abstract The context of this article is the “Glasgow as a Living Laboratory, Accelerating Novel Transformation” (GALLANT) project (2022–2028), a collaborative initiative that brings together researchers, community organisations and residents to explore how climate change, environmental degradation and environmental enhancement are experienced and made sense of in everyday urban contexts. The research presented here employed frame analysis, conceptualised by Erving Goffman in the 1970s, to examine community perceptions of urban climate resilience and adaptation. Guided by participatory action research (PAR), transdisciplinary principles and an understanding of learning cities as ongoing processes of lifelong learning and participatory governance rather than fixed models, the authors explore how community environmental and social relations, experiences, values and priorities are negotiated in relation to climate change and biodiversity loss. Focusing on community-generated frames, the article offers a nuanced view of learning for climate action as a collective endeavour. It highlights diverse community perspectives on climate adaptation and emphasises the importance of place-based and participatory methods, including photovoice, for surfacing these perspectives. Through a photo-elicitation analytical lens, four themes emerge: just energy transition; a sharing city; nature-based solutions; and community activities. The study contributes to debates on inclusive climate action, urban environmental governance and participatory research within learning cities.