In search of systemic and collaborative city planning : Co-learning and capacity building for urban sustainability transformations and resilience

Highlights:
• Urban resilience requires equipping cities with social, cognitive, organisational and action-based capabilities to recover from sudden disturbances and shocks. Furthermore, resilience requires facilitating adaptation, transformation and co-evolution of urban systems.
• Three key areas are identified for future research at the intersection of urban resilience and sustainability transformations: systems (developing a whole-systems perspective on urban design and planning), agents (fostering cross-sectoral collaboration in urban decision-making and place-shaping), and institutions (aiming at learning and capacity building in participatory and collaborative planning practices).
• Participatory city planning can target building true collaborative partnerships between cities and residents, where bilateral interactions nurture learning. Hence, in their participatory and collaborative urban planning efforts, cities should aim beyond building evidence basis for future decisions, and strive towards long-term multi-stakeholder engagement and co-learning.