LO-ACT studied how low-carbon transitions occur in small and medium-sized cities, particularly in rapidly urbanising regions of Africa and Asia. The research produced 42 peer-reviewed publications, including two monographs, two special issues, and multiple policy reports, which have attracted over 1,300 citations to date. LO-ACT established a climate urbanism network with two major international conferences and positioned the Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield as a leading centre for research on equitable, low-carbon urban futures.
• WP1 (Urban Imaginaries) revealed a shift from “urban optimism” to “urban pragmatism” in global climate politics. Growing calls for measurable results have led to a homogenisation of climate discourses, reducing space for diverse and locally grounded innovations. It analysed the impact of emergency narratives on local action, and how professionals use dominant imaginaries creatively to drive innovation.
• WP2 (Climate Policy Mobilities) introduced a correlative epistemology grounded in Chinese social theory, challenging Western-centric models of transition. The research also explored how innovations in transport, energy, and waste systems travel between cities, incorporating insights from pandemic-related health crises and justice-driven grassroots movements.
• WP3 (Patterns of Local Action) mapped over 800 local climate initiatives in the largest comparative database of climate action in rapidly growing cities. LO-ACT’s concept of mundane innovation revealed locally grounded, everyday forms of experimentation driving change from below. Nuances and mechanisms were explored in case studies from China, India, Brazil, Spain, the Philippines, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
• WP4 (Governance and Messiness) reimagined theories of urban governance to account for uncertainty. New concepts such as messy governmentalities, reparative governance, and urban unknowability built an argument plural, justice-oriented forms of climate action.
LO-ACT’s methodological innovations include:
• New conceptual frameworks to understand climate governance (action imaginaries, Ivy discourses, and correlative epistemologies).
• Large-scale comparative methods with archival research, action-research case studies, and arts-based methods. Participatory innovation workshops in cities such as Mzuzu (Malawi), Bauchi (Nigeria), and Pune (India).
• A new design-led methodology (life bio-graphics) to connect professional experience with innovation capacities.
Impact on global climate policy and local urban practice:
• Authoring major parts of the AR6 Working Group II report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC).
• Writing chapters for UN-Habitat’s World Cities Reports in 2020, 2022, and 2024. A chapter in the 2024 advocated for people-centred urban innovation .
• Engaging in policy development at intermediary organisations such as the British Academy or United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
• Institutionalising a research programme on climate change and informal work within the international NGO WIEGO.
• Informing action to build resilience in informal settlements with the NGO TAMPEI and the Philippines Alliance.
Capacity Building and Legacy
• Climate Urbanism research has transformed the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield into an international hub for urban climate research.
• Visiting scholars and four postdoctoral researchers have built long-term research capacity across Africa, Asia, and Europe. One postdoctoral researcher secured an ERC Starting Grant on just transitions in china.
• The PI secured major follow-on funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) on community energy (2020–2025), and on a feminist perspective on energy transitions (2025–2028).
• The PI received the AXA Prize for Climate Science (2021) and was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to the International Group of Scientists (2025) to co-author the Global Sustainable Development Report.
