Governing local sustainability

Abstract

This paper draws upon the DISCUS (Developing Institutional and Social Capacity for Sustainable Development) research project, co-funded by the European Commission. The project was undertaken during 2001�-�2004 and involved an in-depth study of 40 European towns and cities in order to understand the institutional and social factors and conditions that might contribute to policy 'achievement' or 'failure' in local sustainable development policy and practice. Based on the findings of this research it proposes a conceptual framework for local sustainable development, linking the concepts of institutional capital, social capital and governance to provide a model for understanding the governing of local sustainability. The research shows that in those cases that exhibit sustainable development policy achievements, there are also greater levels of civil society activity and knowledge regarding sustainability issues, and high levels of institutional capacity. Confident local government is crucial to the development of institutional capacity and to institutional learning. One aspect of this is local authorities being equipped to address the longer-term issues and to have a strategic vision for a sustainable future.

Presenting a Framework to Analyze Local Climate Policy and Action in Small and Medium-Sized Cities

“…When it comes to staff working on climate throughput processes the involvement of a "committed individual" [17], "local firebrand" or "local catalyst" [48,[50][51][52] is of great importance; viz. civil servants or public officials who have the power, authority, experience and personal skills to intervene and influence decision-making at a given moment [53] or who make sure to protect or maintain the interest of climate change on local political and policy agendas [48,[50][51][52]54].…”

“…civil servants or public officials who have the power, authority, experience and personal skills to intervene and influence decision-making at a given moment [53] or who make sure to protect or maintain the interest of climate change on local political and policy agendas [48,[50][51][52]54]. We argue that next to being motivated and committed this person also has above average skills in networking, process managing, niche managing and playing the role of 'policy entrepreneur' to get climate issues on political and policy agendas (e.g., [12].…”

Transition Thinking Incorporated: Towards a New Discussion Framework on Sustainable Urban Projects

“…Today, urban projects across the globe are being utilized as a means of making cities more sustainable [1][2][3]. The increasing number of sustainable urban initiatives seems to indicate a positive future for our cities.…”

Scalar Politics and Local Sustainability: Rethinking Governance and Justice in an Era of Political and Environmental Change

“…However, these points are not only often unmentioned, but also researchers and practitioners have generally not tested their veracity. When these points have been tested, they often show the limitations of the discourse (Bebbington 2000;Evans et al, 2006;Neumann, 2005;Young, 1986). (4) In this section, and given the focus of this journal, our main focus is on identifying the explicit reasons why local governance has been promoted, although we recognise the prominence of the discourse of living (and consuming) locally (Middlemiss, 2010) and return to this later.…”

“…Many have called for a more explicit articulation of the rationale for the focus on the local and have criticised the assumption behind the correlation of local and sustainability (Brown and Purcell, 2005;Evans et al, 2006;Marvin and Guy, 1997). As Gibbs and Jonas argued in 2000 (page 299) but remains true today, " [a] recurrent theme in the growing environmental and sustainable development literature is the need for local approaches to the delivery and implementation of policy ... frequently justified in a pragmatic manner (and in a rather circular argument) by reference to national and international environmental policy initiatives that have emphasized this scale as the most appropriate site for policy intervention."…”