Changing Arenas of Change: Mapping Collective Actors, Power Relations and Socio-Ecological Transitioning in a Large Housing Estate Using Social Worlds/arenas Maps

Housing estates offer significant potential for socio-ecological transitioning and practices of care. While many housing estates in single ownership - whether state or municipality-owned housing, or housing associations - are being modernised and modified to meet current and future needs, large privately-owned condominiums struggle to activate their resources to participate in urban transformation. Based on a case from Munich, Bavaria, we explore how social worlds/arenas maps can be used to represent and analyse collective processes of socio-ecological transitioning in large condominiums. We also discuss how the maps could add thickness and additional layers of care to co-design processes and support the planning of a future co-design process within the complex and contested field of change. By linking the spatial dimension to decision-making, and applying a sequential comparative perspective, we aim to bring a multidimensional view to power relations, pre-structuring effects, and collective actors. We conclude by arguing that social worlds/arenas maps are valuable tools for representing transitions and adding thickness to analysis, as well as for conceptualising possible future co-design processes, where community-led change is the main challenge and concern.