· 5 min read
As cities confront the accelerating impacts of climate change, the need for deep and sustained transformations has never been more urgent. Incremental adjustments to infrastructure and governance are no longer sufficient — cities must embrace more profound shifts that allow them not only to withstand shocks but to emerge stronger and more adaptive.
This requires moving beyond resilience toward antifragility, a concept introduced by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, which describes the capacity of systems to improve and strengthen in response to stress and disruption. Taleb’s concept of antifragility goes beyond the notion of resilience, which focuses on the ability to absorb and recover from shocks. Antifragility describes a system’s capacity to improve because of stressors, emerging stronger and more adaptive after disruption.
But when driving such transitions, how do we bridge and bounce between short, medium and long-term shifts? After all, us humans, and unfortunately policymakers, eschew a focus on long-term outcomes, preferring to pursue short-term expedience.
Karen O’Brien’s framework of practical, political, and personal spheres of transformation provides a valuable lens for understanding how cities can drive sustainability transitions.
Together, these spheres highlight how practical interventions, political reinforcement, and shifts in social norms can generate antifragile outcomes — where cities don’t just recover from climate and environmental shocks but leverage them to become stronger and more sustainable.
Karen O’Brien’s spheres of transformation
Karen O’Brien’s framework identifies three interlinked spheres that drive transformative change:
- Practical sphere – this sphere encompasses concrete actions and structural changes, such as infrastructure development, technological innovation, and policy implementation. it includes public and private investment, regulatory frameworks, and governance mechanisms that create the foundation for change.
- Political sphere – this refers to the social, political, and economic forces that shape and reinforce change. political will, public opinion, economic incentives, and institutional frameworks determine whether practical interventions take root and expand.
- Personal sphere – this sphere reflects the internal, psychological, and cultural dimensions of transformation. It involves shifting individual and collective values, norms, and expectations, which ultimately determine the durability and depth of societal change.
True transformation occurs when these spheres align and reinforce each other. Practical interventions create the enabling environment for change, political support secures and scales those changes, and personal and cultural shifts embed them into everyday life.
This is where O’Brien’s framework becomes synergistic with Taleb’s conception of antifragility. Through the lens of antifragility, the practical sphere provides the infrastructure and policy shifts that enable cities to respond to shocks, the political sphere ensures that these changes are reinforced and expanded through governance and economic incentives, and the personal sphere cements antifragility by embedding new values and norms that encourage further innovation and adaptation.
Sustainable transformations are most effective when all three phases are activated and mutually reinforcing. Early practical successes create the foundation for political entrenchment, which in turn drives cultural and social shifts that embed transformation over the long term.
Solar energy transitions
Germany’s transition to solar energy illustrates how aligning O’Brien’s spheres—practical, political, and personal—can drive durable change.
On a practical level, the German government introduced long-term subsidies for solar energy, ensuring that producers received high returns for excess power fed into the grid. This created strong financial incentives for individuals and businesses to adopt solar technology quickly, leading to rapid growth in the sector.
Politically, the expansion of the solar market brought both economic and strategic advantages. The increase in solar installations created new jobs and reduced Germany’s reliance on imported energy, enhancing energy security. At the same time, growing competition in the market drove down the cost of solar panels, further strengthening the economic case for renewable energy.
On a personal and social level, the increasing affordability and visibility of solar panels helped normalise them as a mainstream technology. Household solar installations became a symbol of both environmental responsibility and economic prudence, reinforcing their cultural acceptance and encouraging even broader adoption.
Nature-based solutions as antifragile strategies
Nature-based solutions (NbS) offer a compelling example of how cities can activate O’Brien’s spheres of transformation to drive antifragile outcomes. By integrating natural systems into urban infrastructure, cities can simultaneously enhance climate resilience, improve public health, and foster economic growth. Singapore’s biophilic urban design illustrates how this approach can produce sustainable and self-reinforcing change.
The Cooling Singapore Project demonstrates how aligning practical, political, and personal factors can drive lasting change in urban design and climate resilience.
On a practical level, the project introduced 86 evidence-based heat mitigation strategies, including urban greenery, smart building design, and reflective surfaces. These measures, supported by both government and private sector investment, delivered immediate and tangible benefits by reducing urban heat and improving air quality.
Politically, the social and economic advantages of biophilic design strengthened long-term support for urban greening. Higher property values, improved public health, and job creation in eco-tourism and landscaping underscored the benefits of integrating nature into the city. As a result, urban greening became a central pillar of Singapore’s national development strategy.
On a personal level, the integration of green spaces into urban life improved social well-being and fostered broad public appreciation for biophilic design. Projects like Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park transformed urban areas into vibrant community hubs, making urban greenery a defining feature of Singapore’s identity and encouraging further adoption of similar initiatives.
Singapore’s success reflects antifragility in action — biophilic design not only helped the city adapt to climate stressors but also strengthened its social, economic, and environmental fabric.
Toward antifragile sustainability transitions
The convergence of O’Brien’s spheres of transformation provides a strategic blueprint for achieving antifragile sustainability transitions in global cities. Practical interventions create the initial momentum for change, political and economic forces reinforce and scale these shifts, and personal and cultural norms embed them into the fabric of urban life.
Nature-based solutions like Singapore’s biophilic design and Germany’s solar energy transition demonstrate how this model can drive deep, self-reinforcing transformation. When cities align practical, political, and personal factors with sticky, entrenched, and expansive strategies, they can move beyond resilience toward antifragility — not merely surviving climate shocks but using them to create stronger, more sustainable urban futures.
illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.
