Appraisal of social-ecological innovation as an adaptive
response by stakeholders to local conditions : mapping
stakeholder involvement in horticulture orientated green space
management

Dennis, M; Armitage, RP; James, P

Abstract

Urban areas are hubs of creativity and innovation providing fertile ground for novel responses to
modern environmental challenges. Previous studies have attempted to conceptualise the ecological,
social and political potential of social-ecological innovation in urban green space management.
However, little work has been conducted on the social-ecological conditions influencing their
occurrence and distribution. Further research is therefore necessary to demonstrate whether
stakeholder stewardship of green resources contributes towards adaptive capacity in socialecological
systems. The research reported here explored the extent of organised social-ecological
innovations in a continuous urban landscape comprising three adjoining metropolitan areas:
Manchester, Salford and Trafford (UK). Examples of horticulture orientated organised socialecological
innovation were identified using a snowball-sampling method. Their distribution, explored
with GIS and remote sensing technology, was found to be significantly associated with levels of both,
social and ecological, deprivation. The study presented social-ecological innovation as an adaptive
response to environmental stressors, conditioned by specific social and ecological parameters in the
landscape. It therefore provides empirical support for social-ecological innovation as a valid
ingredient contributing to resilience in adaptive social-ecological systems. Not only do such collective
community-led elements of natural resource management warrant acknowledgement in urban green
space planning, but their distribution and productivity may provide a valuable social-ecological
laboratory for the study of polycentric governance and adaptive capacity in the urban environment.

Citation

management. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 18, 86-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.010

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 24, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2016
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 25, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 25, 2017
• Journal: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
• Print ISSN: 1618-8667
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 18
• Pages: 86-94
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.010
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.010
• Related Public URLs: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/16188667