Societal transformation through the prism of the concept of territoire: A French contribution

•Sustainable transformations are situated in space.•The French concept of territoire is relevant to study transformations in a systemic manner.•The revelation of transformative territorial resources aims at relocating activities and reducing externalities.•Transformations emerge from and are sustained by the construction of new imaginaries.•Transformations require synergies amongst the territorial actors and the different institutional levels. Driven by the need for radical change in our practices and values to escape crises, studies on sustainability transitions have multiplied in recent years. Such radical transformations are situated in space. A spatial approach towards transformative processes can thus inform about the conditions and contexts of such dynamics. Recent publications on the geography of transition tackle this issue but still give little importance to the constructed and relational nature of place that frames interactions between niche, regime and landscape. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the spatial analysis of transformation dynamics by adopting the French-speaking literature on territoire. We attempt to show that the conceptualisation of space through the French territorial lens appears highly relevant in the study of sustainability transitions, notably because the concept of territoire allows to grasp three fundamental dimensions of transformation (the material, institutional and ideal dimension) and their interactions. It thus enables studying transformation dynamics in a systemic manner. Furthermore, this concept allows researchers to grasp multiple and intertwined power relationships involved in transformation processes by tackling governance issues through the spatial lens.