Nevelina Pachova (p), Adriana Verán (p)

Adam Polko

Bottom-up collective action is increasingly suggested as an alternative to both top-down government-led interventions and market-based approaches to transformative change. Catalysing and sustaining collective action, however, is a challenging task, especially in cases, where such actions are: 1) not based on pre-existing communities as is often the case with individuals and groups on the margins of existing socio-economic structures, political processes, and cultural constructs and norms, and/or 2) take place in contexts with a limited culture of participatory planning, self-organization and collective action, as is often the case in centralised political systems and/or enterprise-based industrial monocultures. In this study we explore the challenges and opportunities for mobilizing collective action in the face of both of those constraints. We do so through a reflection on a process of action-research aimed to enable three types of groups on the margins of the transition to a post-carbon future in the former mining region of León, Spain, namely unemployed individuals, migrants and children. In doing so, we draw on recent research on commoning as a social practice but problematize the often idealised and non-political approach to presenting and promoting such practices as a way of informing both future practice and research. Specifically, we bring in notions of conflict and conflict resolution in community practice and highlight their importance as a means of transformative learning and change. The study is based on research conducted in the framework of the EU-funded BOLSTER project, which aims to inform the design of more inclusive governance frameworks in the process of decarbonization at the regional and EU scale.

Adam Polko (p)

Marcin Baron

This article explores whether the concept and best practices of governing the commons can contribute to the planning and implementation of a just transition.

Climate change and the related energy transition processes represent one of the most pressing global challenges today. Although global in scale, their impacts are primarily felt at the local level, particularly by communities in cities and rural areas. The issue is especially pronounced in marginalized, economically disadvantaged communities, whose voices often remain unheard. The European Commission's policy initiatives under the European Green Deal, aimed at achieving climate neutrality, are frequently misunderstood in the context of widespread disinformation and face resistance from various social and professional groups. Identifying effective strategies and tools to enhance awareness and foster acceptance of these transitions is therefore essential.
Two key perspectives on just transition have been identified: the reductionist perspective and the whole-system perspective (Abram et al., 2022). The reductionist perspective focuses on the immediate negative effects of job losses in fossil fuel-dependent industries, prioritizing technological interventions while treating social, economic, and technological consequences in isolation (Jenkins et al., 2016). In contrast, the whole-system perspective conceptualizes just transition as a complex process involving dynamic interactions across multiple systems. This approach highlights synergies, trade-offs, potential contradictions, and unintended consequences.
The whole-system perspective on just transition aligns closely with the concept of the commons (Ostrom, 1990; Foster & Iaione, 2022; Polko, 2024). Established theoretical frameworks and best practices in governing the commons may offer valuable insights for planning and implementing just transition. This raises several key research questions:
• Is the application of the commons framework a necessary condition for building social and economic resilience in response to climate change and energy transition?
• Can marginalized communities develop greater awareness and acceptance of just transition through commons-based initiatives?
• Is it possible to establish stable local partnerships and communities in collaboration with public authorities through commoning processes that support just transition?

This study employs a mixed-method approach. The first method involves case studies combined with interviews with representatives of urban communities. The second method consists of a social (field) experiment. Both approaches aim to deepen the understanding of planning and implementing just transition in alignment with the principles of governing the commons. The research will be conducted in selected local communities in Polish regions where Territorial Just Transition Plans are in place.

Marcin Baron (p), Artur Ochojski, Adam Polko

Liesbeth De Schutter

The transition toward a sustainable and climate-resilient economy requires inclusive, community-driven approaches, particularly in regions historically dependent on carbon-intensive industries. This study explores the role of intermediary organizations (IOs) in facilitating bottom-up initiatives within the framework of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) in Silesia, Poland—the largest JTF recipient in the European Union. Grounded in Gray’s 4P framework (Purpose, Process, Partnerships, and Products), the research investigates how IOs conceptualize and implement just transition projects, their motivations, and the perceived impact on local communities.
The study employs a mixed-method approach, analyzing 68 funded projects through publicly available data, complemented by in-depth interviews (IDIs) with key IO representatives and a follow-up survey to cross-validate insights. Preliminary findings indicate that IOs primarily rely on tacit knowledge and prior experience in designing projects but face challenges in mobilizing public engagement. The just transition narrative is often perceived as a top-down mandate, generating limited enthusiasm among residents. Consequently, IOs strategically embed transition messaging within existing socio-economic structures to increase acceptance and participation.
Key themes emerging from the research include the significance of place-based leadership, the integration of grassroots-led initiatives with broader governance frameworks, and the role of IOs in bridging knowledge gaps between policymakers and communities. While IOs recognize the potential of their projects in fostering awareness and incremental socio-economic changes, they remain cautious about their direct impact on broader economic restructuring. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on just transitions by highlighting mechanisms for enhancing community-driven engagement, ensuring that transition policies align with local needs and aspirations.
By examining the experiences of IOs in Silesia, this study provides valuable insights into the operational challenges and opportunities for intermediary organizations in just transitions across Europe. It underscores the necessity of participatory governance and sustained knowledge exchange to achieve equitable and locally embedded climate transitions.

Liesbeth De Schutter (p), Joana Wensing, Eveline van Leeuwen

Loïc Giaccone

The European Union faces two critical challenges: (1) the accumulation of biowaste in cities and (2) the depletion of nutrients from agricultural soils in less dense regions. Both problem contexts have been associated with the global structure and mostly linear practices in urban food provisioning. Yet, urban waste services and related actors (food retailers, households, restaurants, farmers) tend to lack a sense of shared responsibility in governing cities and their dependence on healthy soils in food producing hinterlands. Based on the concept of “commons” and community-based governance of resource systems developed from an ontological lens of complex social-ecological systems, we propose to take a broader “regenerative soil system” perspective. Using the case of the city of Amsterdam, we apply this concept as an epistemological tool to identify distinct biowaste communities in the city-region. Through participatory modeling workshops with these communities, we assess how these communities conceptualize soils and their multiple functions as a commons, and explore if, and how they (can) develop and implement regenerative practices to benefit the local community and city-region. In particular, we assess whether awareness of the complexity of the biowaste problem context in city regions supports interest in, and action towards, community building processes contributing to a paradigmatic shift from individual and local level solutions to place-based (city-region level) solutions.

Loïc Giaccone (p), Leïla Kebir, Emmanuel Reynard

Nevelina Pachova

Populations living in mountain regions of the Alps are facing many challenges, both environmental and socioeconomic, requiring profound transitions for those territories. On the socioeconomic side, remote villages far from urban centres are experiencing a decline of local services and, in some cases, a decline of their population as well. It is in this context that local and self-organised collective actions have recently emerged in several places in the Alps (Landel & Koop, 2018, Gros-Balthazard et al., 2024, Grison & Gros-Balthazard, 2024), some of which being described as “new mountain commons” (Gros-Balthazard et al., 2024). Commons can be defined as a model of collective resource governance, in which a community establishes its own rules for the access, use and management of a resource (Ostrom, 1990). Over the recent past, new forms of collective management of other types of resources, known as the “new commons” (Hess, 2008), have emerged also in mountain regions. In Switzerland, these new mountain commons take a variety of forms, such as self-help groups for parents, cooperatives for local goods and services production, mountain heritage restoration associations, ski-lift management organisations and participatory cafés and grocery shops (Gros-Balthazard et al., 2024). As part of the ComMount research project on new mountain commons , this work focuses on participatory grocery shops located in Swiss mountain villages. Do these initiatives help maintain or even recreate social bonds within villages, while contributing to the transition to more sustainable lifestyles? We use the concept of growth-independent social innovations and the approach of innovative milieux to analyse the characteristics of these initiatives and their contribution to local territorial development (Mayer et al., 2021, Tschumi et al., 2021). Following the methodology of the ComMount research project*, we present results from qualitative analyses of semi-structured interviews with members from three case studies of recently created participatory grocery shops located in Valais, Switzerland. Preliminary results show that these new mountain commons participate to a form of not growth-oriented local development; they participate to local economy by giving priority to local products and enable residents to obtain goods nearby while becoming involved in those initiatives.

*Mountain COMmons: questioning past and present Commons to address territorial development issues in MOUNTain areas (ComMount), Swiss National Science Foundation, grant n°212414