Dialogue and Disruption at the Doorstep: Participant Perceptions during a City Walk as a Climate Communication Format

Elisabeth Hartmann, Katrin Geneuss and Imke Hoppe ()
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Elisabeth Hartmann: Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 Munich, Germany
Katrin Geneuss: Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 Munich, Germany
Imke Hoppe: Department of Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 80333 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Since there is a broad empirical consensus that linear science communication focusing on disaster framing rarely empowers audiences and prompts transformative action, alternative climate communication formats are needed. This paper explores an alternative climate communication format, which integrates the issue into a local context (Munich, Germany) via transdisciplinary cooperation, specifically through collaboration with local climate educators and tapping into the scientific expertise of local stakeholders. The conceptualized format of a City Walk on the subject of climate justice addresses urban citizens and tests the effectiveness of climate justice as an alternative framing. Drawing on an accompanying empirical study with qualitative group discussions (n = 14, October 2023), this article explores how the format and framing are perceived by the participants. Based on these findings, we discuss the potentials and pitfalls of the format for transdisciplinary science communication. In summary, the City Walk deepened participants’ understanding of local climate justice—that is to say, how heat and flooding could amplify existing inequalities, and why adaptation and mitigation measures have not yet been implemented more thoroughly. Here, the crucial point is not whether the shift from climate change being a general topic to a personal one is supported by technical aspects of communication (e.g., virtual simulations). However, perceived local climate justice barriers (like bureaucracy) led participants to prioritize individual action (‘footprint’) over collective action (e.g., addressing local change). With these results, this study underlines the importance of new transdisciplinary formats for climate communication to address local change.

Keywords: transdisciplinary science communication; climate communication; education for sustainable development; city walks; climate justice; dialogue-oriented science communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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