Regions in Industrial Transitions: A Transformative Resilience Perspective on the Uneven Geographies of Vulnerability, Preparedness, and Responsiveness

This article explores regional industrial transitions in the context of climate change. Drawing inspiration from recent work on green regional vulnerability and challenge-oriented regional innovation systems, we conceptualize regional industrial transition processes from a transformative resilience perspective and as being shaped by a complex interplay between distinct geographies of (1) vulnerability to, (2) preparedness for, and (3) responsiveness to transition pressures. Empirically, the article utilizes rich data from eleven regions in nine countries in the Danube area in Europe. We employ a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative analyses of regional structural conditions (focusing on vulnerability and preparedness) with qualitative investigations of agency of regional and nonregional actors (accounting for responsiveness). This approach reveals how structural conditions and agentic processes interact in shaping how regions navigate industrial transitions.