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The potentials of citizens engagement and initiatives in sustainable transitions and the localization of the SDGs have gained increased interest in policy and research. Several reports call for a better understanding of how universal values of sustainability can be "translated" and implemented in local government actions. Local sustaiblity transitions require better understanding of how local government systems can collaborate with citizens initiatives--while sustaining their independency and local anchoring. In this article we take point of departure in a participatory research process with citizens initiatives, local authorities and ByKuben the Centre of Urban Ecology in Oslo. We describe three initiatives and explore how spaces of participation can be shaped between citizens and local authorities grounded on the citizens initiatives. Further, we depict the different roles of action research during this process. Inspired by theories of transition/transformation, and spaces of participation, we discuss how critical utopian action research can create spaces for "reversed participation" in local sustainable development. We define this as the action researchers "double movement" between citizens and the local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]