Monitoring behavioural change in to-be-climate-neutral smart cities adapting the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM)

In response to the challenges posed by climate change, cities are increasingly adopting systemic perspectives that incorporate bottom-up strategies, such as social innovation, moving away from traditional, technocratic and siloed, top-down approaches to climate neutrality. However, achieving large-scale socio-technical transformations necessitates addressing behavioural change among citizens. While behavioural change has traditionally been studied at the individual level through the widespread adaptation of models such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) or the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM) across disciplines, existing literature offers limited insights into their role and adaption in systemic transformations, particularly within the context of climate transitions. Nonetheless, there is a growing consensus—both in academic discourse and within the public sector, including policymakers and climate transition teams—on the critical need to integrate understanding and assessment of behavioural change into systemic climate transition action plans and strategies. Cities committed to the EU Mission of achieving 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 are actively selecting greenhouse gas (GHG) and non-GHG indicators to monitor, evaluate, and learn the systemic impacts of their climate actions. This study examines the indicator selections of 39 cities within the EU-funded NetZeroCities project using an adaptation of the TTM to categorise indicators of behavioural change into the stages of change of the TTM. Specifically, it aims to (1) provide emerging evidence on cities’ interest in monitoring behavioural change in relation to climate actions and (2) identify the stage of behavioural change that cities across Europe intend to assess. The study’s novel findings contribute not only to the transdisciplinary literature but also offer valuable insights for policymaking, supporting more effective and holistic climate transition strategies.