More-than-human Actor Mapping: Integrating Actor-Network Theory and Critical Systems Heuristics to Reframe Actor Dynamics in Nature-Based Solutions

As sustainability challenges like climate change grow in complexity, the effective design of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), like urban green infrastructure, becomes increasingly urgent. Although NbS can promote climate-resilient and sustainable environments, their success depends on coordinating diverse actors and agencies while considering contextual factors (Mosisa et al., 2025).

This study contends that integrating Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the dynamic, complex relationships among human and non-human actors in NbS. CSH (Ulrich, 1983) offers a lens to examine the assumptions, values, and power structures shaping sustainability interventions, paying attention to boundary judgments and acknowledging whose interests and knowledge are prioritised or excluded (Ulrich & Reynolds, 2020). ANT (Latour, 1987; Law, 1992) emphasises that agency emerges from networks of human and non-human actors, where interactions, rather than individual actors, drive system change (Pels, 1992). ANT complements CSH by grounding critical reflection in empirical network analysis, broadening agency beyond humans. CSH introduces ethical and critical inquiry into network mapping, emphasising justice and inclusion rather than mere description. This holistic, more-than-human approach helps develop actor maps that reveal the often-overlooked complexities, like power relations and system dynamics, crucial in developing effective sustainability interventions.

The research employs a mixed-methods approach, using observation, focus groups, and document analysis, resulting in a More-than-Human Actors Map for a blue-green infrastructure project in the city of Amsterdam. It contributes to STS by providing a theoretical framework and a novel conceptual tool that recognises non-human actors as agents in actor maps that inform NbS design and governance. Challenging hierarchical models, the tool places human and non-human actors equally, emphasising that agency emerges from their interactions. It visualises practices and inscriptions that render non-human actors consequential, highlighting them as mediators that shape other actors' capabilities rather than as passive elements.