Green Building Transitions : Regional Trajectories of Innovation in Europe, Canada and Australia

This volume analyzes sustainability-related innovations in the building sector and discusses how regional contexts articulate transition trajectories toward green building. It presents ‘biographies’ of drivers and processes of green building innovation in four case studies: Brisbane (AUS), Freiburg (GER), Luxembourg (LU), and Vancouver (CA). Two of them are relatively well known for their initiatives to mitigate climate change – particularly in the building sector, whereas the other two have only recently become more active in promoting green building. The volume places emphasis on development paths, learning processes, and innovations. The focus of the case studies is not restricted to purely technological aspects but also integrates regulatory, procedural, institutional, and other processes and routines and their influence on the variations of the building sector. The diversity of the selected case studies offer the reader the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of how sustainability developments have unfolded in different city regions. Case study-specific catalogues of transition paths provide insights to inform policy debates and planning processes. The catalogues identify crucial innovations (technological, regulatory, etc.) and explain the factors and circumstances that have led to their success and broader acceptance in Freiburg, Vancouver, Luxembourg, and Brisbane. With the help of a number of micro case studies within each of the four city regions, the case studies also offer ground for comparison and identification of differences. The book represents the outcome of the GreenRegio project, which stands for ‘Green building in regional strategies for sustainability: multi-actor governance and innovative building technologies in Europe, Australia, and Canada.’ GreenRegio is a 3-year CORE-INTER research project funded by the National Research Fund Luxembourg (lead) and the University of Cologne, and this volume is co-authored by the project’s principal investigators and project coordinator. This volume analyzes sustainability-related innovations in the building sector and discusses how regional contexts articulate transition trajectories toward green building. It presents ‘biographies’ of drivers and processes of green building innovation in four case studies: Brisbane (AUS), Freiburg (GER), Luxembourg (LU), and Vancouver (CA). Two of them are relatively well known for their initiatives to mitigate climate change – particularly in the building sector, whereas the other two have only recently become more active in promoting green building. The volume places emphasis on development paths, learning processes, and innovations. The focus of the case studies is not restricted to purely technological aspects but also integrates regulatory, procedural, institutional, and other processes and routines and their influence on the variations of the building sector. The diversity of the selected case studies offers the reader the opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of how sustainability developments have unfolded in different city regions. Case study-specific catalogues of transition paths provide insights to inform policy debates and planning processes. The catalogues identify crucial innovations (technological, regulatory, etc.) and explain the factors and circumstances that have led to their success and broader acceptance in Freiburg, Vancouver, Luxembourg, and Brisbane. With the help of a number of micro case studies within each of the four city regions, the case studies also offer ground for comparison and identification of differences. The book represents the outcome of the GreenRegio project, which stands for ‘Green building in regional strategies for sustainability: multi-actor governance and innovative building technologies in Europe, Australia, and Canada.’ GreenRegio was a 3-year CORE-INTER research project funded by the National Research Fund Luxembourg (FNR) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Chapters 2, 3,10 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Green Building as Urban Climate Change Strategy (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz, Boris Braun)....Pages 3-14 Green Building as Urban Sustainability Transitions (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages 15-27 Urban Sustainability and the Governance of Greening (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages 29-45 Methodology (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz, Boris Braun, Bérénice Preller)....Pages 47-65 Front Matter ....Pages 67-67 Freiburg: The Emblematic Green City (Sebastian Fastenrath, Bérénice Preller)....Pages 69-98 Vancouver: Leading Green Building Transitions? (Kirstie O’Neill , Julia Affolderbach)....Pages 99-132 Brisbane: A Disrupted Green Building Trajectory (Sebastian Fastenrath)....Pages 133-157 Luxembourg: A Policy-Led Approach Caught Between Green Growth and Affordable Housing (Bérénice Preller)....Pages 159-188 Front Matter ....Pages 189-189 Cities as Seedbeds for Sustainability Innovations (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages 191-202 Leading the Green Transition? (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages 203-221 Conclusion (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages 223-228 Erratum to: Green Building Transitions: Regional Trajectories of Innovation in Europe, Canada and Australia (Julia Affolderbach, Christian Schulz)....Pages E1-E2 Back Matter ....Pages 229-236