Sustainability Transitions in the Context of the English Localism Regime

How we will transition to a net-zero, nature-positive, just society involves managing competing visions of what needs to be done, by whom and on what scale. The planning system affects the way tensions are dissipated, contained and spread, particularly regarding the manifestation of sustainable development in practice, itself a sometimes contentious term that many agree is open to interpretation. In this chapter, we explore how the field of sustainability studies known as sustainability transitions can shed light on the politics of planning. For instance, how planning negotiations can contribute to the wider management of place-based normative assumptions on what is the right kind of ‘sustainable development’ as different actors (such as communities, town and parish councils, local planning authorities, landowners and developers) navigate institutions and informal spaces that influence development outcomes. To do so, we chart notable environmental discourses and their potential use and negotiation in the planning process and how planning scholars have thus far addressed transitions in the literature. We also explore how these insights tie into wider debates on environmental and social movements, democracy, accountability and UK environmental policy in the context of climate and ecological emergencies.