Research

Research interests

I conduct research on socioecological change in modern societies, with primary focus on food systems. My current research critically examines ongoing processes of societal transformation towards forms of society and economy which, not depending on perpetual growth, aim at the wellbeing of all and sustain the ecological basis of life. I aim to develop an empirically based theory of societal transformation to sustainability, to contribute to the societal debate on this challenge, and to build a bridge between theory and action. My research uses interdisciplinary and mixed-method approaches, and is focussed primarily on Europe and Latin America (especially Colombia).

My past and present research agenda revolves around three main research lines:

1. Sustainability transitions and transformation theories. I have engaged in conceptual work on theories of sustainability transitions and transformation, which has led to an agenda-setting framework for mapping sustainability transformation theories, to the integration of social and natural sciences in the conceptualization of undesirable system lock-in, and to ground breaking contributions to a critical turn in sustainability transition and transformation thinking. Selected publications in this research line are:

• Feola, G., Koretskaya, O., Moore, D., 2021. (Un)making in sustainability transformation beyond capitalism. Global Environmental Change 69, 102290.  

• Feola, G., 2020. Capitalism in sustainability transitions research: Time for a critical turn? Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 35, 241-250.  

• Oliver, T., Boyd, E., Balcombe, K., Benton T. G., Bullock, J. M., Donovan, D., Feola, G., Head, M., Mace, G. M., Mortimer, S., Nunes, R. J., Pywell, R., Zaum, D., 2018. Overcoming undesirable resilience in the global food system. Global Sustainability 1, e9.   

• Feola, G., 2015. Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: a review of emerging concepts. AMBIO 44(5), 376-390. 

2. The contribution of grassroots initiatives and movements to societal transformation toward sustainability. I have studied ongoing processes of societal transformation led by grassroots civil society initiatives and social movements, especially those mobilizing around agri-food systems' (un)sustainability. For example, with my research team I have explored the processes of deconstruction of capitalism that are involved in such grassroots-led processes – and spaces – of transformation. I have studied the impact of grassroots action, and coalition building to maximize transformative impact.  Earlier, I have studied the geographies of grassroots innovations, including the diffusion of grassroots initiatives, such as Transition Towns, to better understand the conditions for their emergence and consolidation in different places. Selected publications in this research line are:

• Henfrey, T., Feola, G., Penha-Lopes, G., Sekulova, F. Esteves, A. M., 2023. Rethinking the sustainable development goals: Learning with and from community-led initiatives. Sustainable Development 31(1), 211-222. 

• van Oers, L., Feola, G., Runhaar, H., Moors, E., 2023. Unlearning in sustainability transitions: Insight from two Dutch community-supported agriculture farms. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 46, 100693.  

• Pocas Ribeiro, A., Harmsen, R., Feola, G., Rosales Carréon, J., Worrell, E., 2021. Organising Alternative Food Networks (AFNs): Challenges and Facilitating Conditions across types of AFNs in three EU countries. Sociologia Ruralis 61(2), 491-517. 

• Feola, G., Butt, A., 2017. The diffusion of grassroots innovations for sustainability in Italy and Great Britain: an exploratory spatial data analysis. Geographical Journal 183(1), 16-33. 

• Feola, G., Nunes, J.R., 2014. Success and failure of Grassroots Innovations for addressing climate change: the case of the Transition Movement. Global Environmental Change 24, 232-250.  

3. The governance of the contradictory and contested relations between the environment and rural (especially agricultural) development. I have investigated sociocultural responses of Andean peasants and the resilience of smallholding communities to environmental change; I have developed non-reductionist approaches to understanding how farmers make environmentally relevant decisions; I have investigated land-use conflicts around peri-urban agriculture; and I have discussed indicator-based sustainability assessment in agriculture. Selected publications in this research line are:

• Guerrero Lara, L., van Oers, L., Smessaert, J., Spanier, J., Raj, G., Feola, G., 2023. Degrowth and Agri-Food Systems: A Research Agenda for the Critical Social Sciences. Sustainability Science 18, 1579–1594. 

• Feola, G., Suzunaga, J., Soler, J., Goodman M.K., 2019. Ordinary land grabbing in peri-urban spaces: land conflicts and governance in a small Colombian city. Geoforum 105, 145-157.  

• Feola, G., 2017. Adaptive Institutions? Peasant Institutions and Natural Models facing climatic and economic changes in the Colombian Andes. Journal of Rural Studies 49,117-127. 

• Feola, G., Lerner, A., Jain, M., Montefrio, M.J.F., Nicholas, K.A., 2015. Researching  farmer behaviour in climate change adaptation and sustainable agriculture: lessons learned from five case studies. Journal of Rural Studies 39, 74-84. 

• Feola, G., Binder, C.R., 2010. Towards an improved understanding of farmers’ behaviour: the integrative agent-centred (IAC) framework. Ecological Economics 69(12), 2323-2333.  

My research along the three above-mentioned research lines has resulted not only in theoretical and empirical advancement, but also in the development of system-oriented, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary methods for the study of food systems, as reflected in the following publications:

• Binder, C.R., Feola, G., Steinberger, J., 2010. Considering the normative, systemic and procedural dimensions in indicator-based sustainability assessments in agriculture. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30(2), 71-81.  

• Feola, G., Sahakian, M., Binder, C. R. 2020. Sustainability Assessment of Urban Agriculture. In: Binder, C.R., Wyss, R., and Massaro, E. (Eds.) Sustainability Assessment of Urban Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 417-437. 

• Barrett, T. Feola, G., Krylova, V., Khusnitdinova, M., 2017. The application of Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems (RAAIS) to agricultural adaptation to climate change in Kazakhstan: a critical evaluation. Agricultural Systems 151, 106-113. 

• Feola, G., Sattler, C., Saysel, A.K., 2012. Simulation models in farming systems research: potential and challenges. In: Darnhofer, I., Gibbon, D., Dedieu, B. (Eds.), Farming systems research into the 21st century: The new dynamic. Springer: Dordrecht, pp. 281-306. 

• Terdoo, F., Feola, G., 2021. Rapid Participatory System Mapping Builds Agri-Food System Resilience: Evidence from Nigeria. African Geographical Review 40(1), 63-75.