Contextual and external factors enabling planning innovations in a regeneration context: the Lyon Confluence project (France)

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the contextual and external factors enabling the emergence and implementation of planning innovations in a regeneration context. It draws upon sustainability transitions theory to define the concept of planning innovation. The paper is based on semi-structured interviews with urban stakeholders involved in the redevelopment process of the Lyon Confluence regeneration project. The case study of Lyon Confluence is the largest regeneration scheme in Europe and features several planning innovations related to environmental sustainability. The main finding is that planning innovations rely on both contextual and external factors. While contextual factors were essential in generating planning innovations in the case study; external factors relating to the development of actors’ networks operating at different scales enabled new financing opportunities for innovation.