ABSTRACT

Urban experiments are no longer exclusively undertaken by alternative networks, dominated by new actors and alliances and located at the fringes of the current system. A second generation of initiatives is emerging, which Is characterized by a leading role for local governments, together with other established players. For experimentation at the fringes of the regime the challenge is to maximally benefit from niche protection while seizing opportunities to influence regime dynamics. Second generation experiments face a different challenge: to benefit from the proximity to the regime while maintaining a protective space for developing ‘deviant’ solutions. I will draw on insights on reflexive governance to develop a framework for understanding this challenge and strategies to meet it. I will use an ongoing project on achieving synergy between energy, water and data infrastructures in Amsterdam as an empirical referent to clarify and sharpen the argument. The framework includes propositions on strategies for this newly emerging types of initiatives, focusing on the processes through which they do or do not work. They may be tested and further developed through case studies. Such work may also contribute to meta-theoretical issue of the relations between institutional, discursive and material factors in driving change.

摘要

城市实验不再仅由替代网络进行，而是由新的参与者和联盟主导，并位于当前系统的边缘。第二代倡议正在出现，其特点是地方政府与其他已建立的参与者一起发挥领导作用。对于在政权边缘进行实验，挑战在于最大程度地从利基保护中受益，同时抓住机会来影响政权动态。第二代实验面临着另一项挑战：要从接近政权的利益中受益，同时又要为开发“偏差”解决方案保留保护空间。我将利用对反思治理的见识来开发一个框架，以理解这一挑战以及应对该挑战的策略。我将使用一个正在进行的项目来实现能源之间的协同作用，阿姆斯特丹的水和数据基础设施，作为澄清和强化该论点的经验参考。该框架包括针对这些新出现的倡议类型的策略的建议，重点在于它们通过或不通过的过程。可以通过案例研究对它们进行测试和进一步开发。此类工作还可能促成推动变革的制度，话语和物质因素之间关系的元理论问题。