In cities worldwide, low-carbon urban initiatives (LCUIs) are realised by pioneers that prove that climate mitigation strategies can be integrated in urban development trajectories. Practitioners and scholars reflect on the need to scale-up such initiatives in order to accelerate the transition to low-carbon cities. Yet, limited conceptual clarity exists regarding the meaning of the concept of 'scaling-up' and the factors driving this process. This article aims to contribute to practice and theory on low-carbon urban development by presenting a taxonomy on the concept of scalingup. Moreover, an explanatory framework is presented consisting of factors expected to contribute to the impact and scaling-up of LCUIs. Two case studies were conducted to illustrate the explanatory framework. The studies are illustrative but suggest that the explanatory framework allows for a systematic understanding of how the impact of former initiatives can be explained, and how their scaling-up can be promoted.

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oEvaluating the substantive effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is vital in order to know to what extent the tool fulfills its purposes and produces expected results. However, the studies that have evaluated the substantive effectiveness of SEA produce varying outcomes as regards the tool's contribution to decision-making and have used a variety of approaches to appraise its effectiveness. The aim of this article is to discuss the theoretical concept of SEA substantive effectiveness and to present a new approach that can be applied for evaluation studies. The SEA effectiveness evaluation framework that will be presented is composed of concepts of, and approaches to, SEA effectiveness derived from SEA literature and planning theory. Lessons for evaluation can be learned from planning theory in particular, given its long history of analyzing and understanding how sources of information and decisions affect (subsequent) decision-making. Key concepts of this new approach are 'conformance' and 'performance'. In addition, this article presents a systematic overview of process and context factors that can explain SEA effectiveness, derived from SEA literature. To illustrate the practical value of our framework for the assessment and understanding of substantive effectiveness of SEA, three Dutch SEA case studies are examined. The case studies have confirmed the usefulness of the SEA effectiveness assessment framework. The framework proved helpful in order to describe the cumulative influence of the three SEAs on decision-making and the ultimate plan.

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Bijlagen.De provincies hebben sinds 2013 hun beleid voor het versterken van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur verder ontwikkeld. In het kader van de Tweede Lerende Evaluatie van het Natuurpact is in dit onderzoek gekeken naar provinciale beleidsstrategieën voor het stimuleren van maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bij natuur. In het onderzoek zijn 8 casussen geselecteerd rondom vrijwilligers, burgerinitiatieven, zorg en recreatie in 8 provincies. In deze casussen staan beleidsprogramma's en regelingen van de provincie rondom maatschappelijke betrokkenheid centraal. Middels interviews en documentenanalyse zijn de verwachtingen die de betrokken partijen hebben voor het beleid en de doelen opgetekend. Op basis van de verwachtingen is gekeken naar de resultaten van het beleid en de ervaringen die betrokken partijen hiermee opdoen.

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