Emerging Places of Social Innovation (POSI). The co-production of space between multilevel stakeholders: the case of productive urban green infrastructure

Social innovation is recurrently positioned as an important collaborative element in helping cities to transition and address human needs and societal challenges for the health, wellbeing and welfare of citizens. To address a call for more sector-specific research on the spatiality of social innovation and further understanding of the process dimension of social innovation, this article presents a conceptual framework of the process of socio-spatial innovation. By combining social innovation insight from process theories and urban spaces discourse the article indicates that sociospatial innovation in the co-production of space can be grouped into four major processes: 1) Identification of human need or societal challenges to sustainable development; 2) Development of social relations in systems or structures; 3) Provision of opportunity for social empowerment; 4) Reflection of socio-spatial development practice. Applying this framework, the article examines how the case of productive green infrastructure emerges in the urban landscape as a Place of Social Innovation (POSI). The framework draws attention to the significance of partnership working and intermediation activities to improve access to urban spaces to contribute to socio-spatial justice and healthy orientated urban environments.