New article: The spatial work of projectified sustainability transitions in Västerbotten

The article examines how sustainability transitions are enacted through project-based funding in Västerbotten focusing on wild berry initiatives. Using an assemblage-topological lens, the authors argue that projectified transitions require continuous spatial work across three dimensions:

• Drawing together: Folding dispersed elements (actors, resources, narratives) into relational proximity.
• Holding together: Maintaining these connections against constant fragmentation.
• Working across: Forging relations between projects to counteract fragmentation.
  

The study reveals that project coherence is not automatic but a fragile achievement requiring sustained effort. Rather than project outputs accumulating naturally into systemic change, transitions emerge from connective spatial labour across and between projects. The authors conclude that transitions are produced despite projects rather than because of them, challenging the sustainability transitions literature's assumptions about discrete, protected project spaces.

Read the full article:
Nils Pettersson, Linn Axelsson, Assembling wild berry transitions: The spatial work of projectified sustainability transitions in Västerbotten, Sweden, Geoforum, Volume 177, 2026.

Linn Axelsson is a Senior lecturer, Docent, at the Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University.
Nils Pettersson is a Doctoral student at the Department of Geography, Umeå University.