The roots of transition scaling: how territory powers citizen ecological initiatives (France, Netherlands)

In what ways and how territory functions as a scaling operator for citizen-led socio-ecological transition initiatives? The territory is defined here as the material, relational, and institutional configuration through which collective ecological action is organized and scaled. Far from being a mere framework or a backdrop, territory is conceptualized as playing an active role in scaling processes. By re-examining forms of scaling through the lens of territorial dynamics—scaling out, up, and deep—we identify four mechanisms through which the territory operates: ecological anchoring, relational densification, cultural deepening, and institutional territorialization. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of three citizen initiatives in middle- and working-class urban contexts—in Paris, Massy, and Arnhem—the analysis demonstrates that these mechanisms connect. Territory is first and foremost a target of citizen action, which seeks to transform grounded ecological and social living conditions. It then acts as a lever: the initiatives deployed within a territory interconnect, produce visible transformations that encourage new actions, and give rise to local arenas of debate whose multiplier effect strengthens the capacities of engaged members. This incremental process broadens and tends to break down the boundaries of action, in favor of a more systemic and grounded approach to ecological issues. On a theoretical level, the paper argues that the territory is not merely the site of scaling but its agent: being simultaneously material, relational, and institutional, it enables—and directs—the scaling of civic action, within the limits of the space ultimately conceded by political authorities in neoliberal cities.