TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental Innovation and Sustainability Transitions in Regional Studies
AU - Truffer, Bernhard
AU - Coenen, Lars
PY - 2012/1/1
Y1 - 2012/1/1
N2 - Truffer B. and Coenen L. Environmental innovation and sustainability transitions in regional studies, Regional Studies. Sustainable development and environmental innovations have received increasing attention in regional studies and the related literature. In how far sustainability concerns might also lead to fundamental transformations in technologies, industries and lifestyles (so-called sustainability transitions) has, however, found much less resonance. Sustainability transitions have been in the focus of scholars from the field of innovation studies. However, until recently, these approaches mostly disregarded spatial aspects. This paper therefore maps out a field of future research - the geography of sustainability transitions - that might be beneficially laboured by both traditions. The paper introduces the core concepts, but also the limitations of the transitions literature. After reviewing salient lines of sustainability-related research in regional studies, the paper specifies promising research areas at the interface between both fields. Empirical illustrations will be provided from recent work in sustainability transitions research venturing into this interface.
AB - Truffer B. and Coenen L. Environmental innovation and sustainability transitions in regional studies, Regional Studies. Sustainable development and environmental innovations have received increasing attention in regional studies and the related literature. In how far sustainability concerns might also lead to fundamental transformations in technologies, industries and lifestyles (so-called sustainability transitions) has, however, found much less resonance. Sustainability transitions have been in the focus of scholars from the field of innovation studies. However, until recently, these approaches mostly disregarded spatial aspects. This paper therefore maps out a field of future research - the geography of sustainability transitions - that might be beneficially laboured by both traditions. The paper introduces the core concepts, but also the limitations of the transitions literature. After reviewing salient lines of sustainability-related research in regional studies, the paper specifies promising research areas at the interface between both fields. Empirical illustrations will be provided from recent work in sustainability transitions research venturing into this interface.
KW - Environmental innovations
KW - Geography of transitions
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84855870846&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00343404.2012.646164
DO - 10.1080/00343404.2012.646164
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84855870846
SN - 0034-3404
VL - 46
SP - 1
EP - 21
JO - Regional Studies
JF - Regional Studies
IS - 1
ER -