ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a transition management as a governance model for addressing persistent societal problems' and explores how it relates to spatial problems and planning. It deals with the theoretical grounding of the model of transition management, by discussing in more detail its theoretical roots in complex systems theory. This management paradigm starts from complexity and uncertainty as means of leverage of societal innovation instead of obstacles that must be contained. Complexity theory, otherwise known as complex systems theory, has its roots in the general systems theory that Von Bertalanffy published since the 1930s. Also in spatial problems, a complexity and transition perspective seems to be worthwhile pursuing. As for transitions in general, spatial transitions are equally uncertain, emergent, surprising and unmanageable through blueprint planning. In complexity terminology, the efforts of transition management in practice are to develop coordinating mechanisms that might accelerate and guide self-organizational and emergent dynamics.
