Anna Baatz

The digitalization of agriculture is bringing about far-reaching socio-technical changes. This article analyzes these changes by looking at farming habits. Transactional theory of learning is introduced as an analytical perspective for investigating farmers’ consideration processes and experimentation with potential habit changes related to the use of digital technologies. The analytical perspective is applied to a case study of robotic weed control in sugar beet cultivation in northeastern Germany. The study shows how prevalent habits are crucial anchor points in farmers’ careful considerations of whether to use a field robot: habitual beliefs such as an excitement for robots, as well as professional and private habits and resulting free and committed capacities are included in these considerations. Experiences with technology use and weather-related uncertainties, furthermore, led to a habitual risk assessment and anticipatory solution seeking as an overarching element in the formation of new habits. In addition to the empirical study, the article aims to make a methodological and conceptual contribution to advance much-needed research on change of (agricultural) practices and the role of technologies in it. In this regard, the use of transactional theory of learning is discussed by reflecting on the kind of knowledge that can be produced with this type of analysis and how it can benefit research on practice change and broader (agricultural) transition processes.

Constellation analysis is a bridging concept for transdisciplinary strategy development. This article compares how constellation analysis was applied in two projects to map strategies for establishing new socio-technical constellations. The focus is on comparing the methodological approach and the question of how certain decisions affected the potential for strategy development and knowledge integration. The results show that the constellation analysis in both projects facilitated the integration of different perspectives as well as strategy development. In one project, an analytical focus on the project goals and project duration enabled a better understanding of the roles and tasks of the project partners and the adaptation of strategies to the current state of technology. In the other project, constellation analysis was used for strategy development beyond the project context and for knowledge transfer.

Urban experiments intervene in selected sites to initiate transition processes. But how do the socio-spatial characteristics of these sites affect urban experiments and vice versa? We address this question by focusing on everyday habits and their reciprocal relationship with the socially produced space that surrounds them. Using conceptual analysis and by means of empirical examples, we consider which socio-spatial narratives, infrastructures and regulations facilitate or hinder urban experimentation. Rather than treating space as a pre-determined neutral stage, we conceptualise it as socially produced configurations that both affect interventions and are shaped by them. The transactional pragmatist perspective allows us to conceptualise how everyday habits can be disturbed and transformed in experimental processes. This notion is enriched by a socio-spatial categorisation of three aspects that co-constitute space. On this basis we develop an analytical framework to outline four possible dynamics arising from urban experimentation and the changing relations between actors and spaces. Empirical examples from the transdisciplinary research project Dresden – City of the Future: Empowering Citizens, Transforming Cities! illustrate the applicability of the framework. Our conceptual contribution provides a tool for analysing the socio-spatial dynamics of urban experiments. This sheds light on the agency of actors by conceptualising how they engage with socio-spatial configurations. We argue that further research on the role of space in urban experimentation is required to better explicate underlying socio-spatial understandings, while drawing on empirical data to test which socio-spatial concepts provide explanatory power for transition dynamics.