The spectre of growth in urban transformations: Insights from two Doughnut-oriented municipalities on the negotiation of local development pathways

Abstract

This paper examines the ambiguous role of economic growth in shaping urban transformations within two municipalities that are implementing the Doughnut Economics (DE) framework. Doughnut Economics proposes a radical reorientation of economic objectives, prioritising human well-being and ecological limits as the primary goals of economic activity. Adopting an ‘agnostic’ stance on growth, DE does not explicitly oppose economic growth, unlike degrowth approaches, but rather side-lines it. This paper explores the practical implications of this agnostic stance by analysing how DE principles and tools are interpreted and applied in real-world contexts. Empirical insights from two small municipalities – Tomelilla (Sweden) and Bad Nauheim (Germany) – highlight a key tension: while decentring but not rejecting growth allows for the engagement of a broad range of actors in urban transformations, the absence of a robust discussion on growth in these growth-oriented settings enables pro-growth perspectives to persist largely unchallenged. Recognising the challenges this poses for urban transformations beyond growth, the paper advocates for an open but decidedly growth-sceptical approach, replacing Doughnut Economics’ ‘growth agnosticism’ with a ‘secularisation of growth’.