No abstract

Networked urban governance is emerging as a major feature of metropolitan strategy and activity. The field of urban studies is yet to deeply engage in the debates on the new forms of cross national networking that are potentially framing and reframing urban governance and strategy. Yet this dimension of urban governance can no longer go unnoticed. In this article we draw together insights from the extant literature into a research agenda on reconfiguring urban governance. We propose a research agenda centred on three themes: the political economy of ‘new-gen’ networks, especially in relation to the role of economic power in determining participation and influence; the knowledge dynamics in city networks in understanding the socio-spatial configurations that are underpinning the decision-making processes and outcomes; and the implications of city networks for traditional institutions that have in the past shaped cities’ strategies, development and government. Our commentary considers and links these emergent themes, noting how these bear serious and urgent consideration for mainstream urban studies.

Attempts to categorize the different interpretations of sustainability have evolved mainly in the form of mapping the terrain or providing typologies. However, mapping approaches tend to be simplistic and therefore incapable of capturing the complexity of the debate. Typologies of sustainability typically lack epistemological consistency, or logical arguments to order the categorization process. This paper proposes a new typology that might capture the diversity of the arguments over sustainability in a form that remains sufficiently clear to make sense of the debate. A typology is offered that is ordered by the ideologies of actors in the debate over sustainability, which might be usefully applied to unpack the ideological alignment of policy actors. This typology offers an overview of the debate, separates out the ideologies of actors and offers a means to compare and reflect on the relative merits of each approach and the solutions that are offered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Sustainability, Reporting, Theoretical framework for sustainability, Political economy,

No abstract