Disrupt and unlock? The role of actors in urban adaptation path-breaking

Despite the growing demands in what urban adaptation (policy) is expected to address (e.g. systemic injustices), incremental responses are the norm. The role of different actors is investigated for maintaining and breaking path-dependencies in Atlanta, Georgia, US: (1) the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (MOSR), (2) the Atlanta Beltline Partnership (ABP), and (3) the Stop COP-City/Defend the Atlanta Forest Movement (SCCM). A mixed-method research approach consists of participant observation, document analysis, and interviews. The findings contribute to a better understanding of different forms of disruption and the role actors play in maintaining, reinforcing, and unlocking transformative adaptation pathways. The study shows how the MOSR serves to maintain status quo adaptation pathways. The ABP reinforces status quo interests by disrupting 'from the middle.' The SCCM disrupts urban (adaptation) governance 'from below' with potential for unlocking new pathways through exposing 'the Atlanta Way,' developing new organizational structures and imaginaries that reconcile different struggles of oppression. Whereas actors who disrupt from 'the middle' are perceived as a legitimate part of politics, actors who disrupt 'from below' are impeded by incumbent actors and their use of disproportionate repression strategies.