From Sustainability to Regeneration: Mapping the Conceptual Foundations and Future Directions of Regenerative Development

Rosalind Yunibandhu and Philip Hallinger

Sustainable Development, 2025, vol. 33, issue 6, 8569-8585

Abstract: This paper investigates the theoretical and conceptual foundations of regenerative development and its relationship to sustainable development. Amid deepening global polycrises and growing disenchantment with the term “sustainability,” there is increasing interest in regeneration as a paradigm that moves beyond harm reduction and efficiency towards fostering systemic vitality and co‐evolution. Using an integrative review method, this study employs bibliometric analysis and narrative synthesis to examine how regeneration and regenerative development are defined, how they relate to, and differ from, sustainable development, and what research gaps remain. The bibliometric co‐word analysis of 1,131 Scopus‐indexed documents identifies three primary thematic clusters: regenerative design and development, urban renewal, and natural regeneration. The literature shows growing interest in regenerative design and development across different fields, yet most research remains at the conceptual level. The narrative synthesis further distinguishes regenerative development from sustainability through its grounding in living systems, as well as its orientation towards "aliveness", which emerges through transformations that promote wholeness. The regenerative mindset is also introduced as a mental and behavioral framework that enables transformation through holistic thinking, reflexive practice, mutualistic relationships, diverse perspectives, and agentic approaches. Key challenges in the field include unclear definitions, limited empirical evidence, a weak focus on equity, potentially marginalised indigenous knowledge systems, and paucity of context‐specific qualitative tools and metrics. Advancing theory and application will further require a more profound understanding of the regenerative mindset. Fundamentally, however, regenerative development does not replace sustainability ‐ rather, it expands its foundations to support life's ongoing potential to thrive.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70112

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:6:p:8569-8585

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainable Development is currently edited by Richard Welford

More articles in Sustainable Development from John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().