Beyond Disciplinary Confinement to Imaginative Transdisciplinarity

Abstract

This chapter explores several ways and means of overcoming the barriers to using transdisciplinary concepts and methods that are being applied in both research and professional practice. As an example of a wicked problem, this chapter uses housing as a multidimensional human construct and process. The author argues that if there is agreement that there are multiple determinants of health, and if there is agreement that there are multiple dimensions of housing, then there is a need to move beyond disciplinary confinement to develop new knowledge about housing and health. The chapter also draws on innovative contributions in Switzerland that extend beyond traditional sector-based approaches by using transdisciplinary principles that integrate the point of view of many actors, including those from the affected communities and organizations.