Global urban climate governance in three and a half parts: Experimentation, coordination, integration (and contestation)

Abstract

Cities are increasingly central to the global governance of climate change, and much of their activity takes place within city-networks operating at national, regional, and global scales. As the scope and ambition of city activities have been augmented over the past decade, so the scholarship has evolved as well. I set out in this review article to trace this evolution by focusing on four lines of inquiry organized around the conceptual foundations of governance experimentation, horizontal coordination, vertical integration, and political contestation. As we stand at the cusp of a vital moment in the global response, I suggest the need for a concerted effort to direct more, and more sustained, attention to the last of these. I argue that careful, critical, and creative thinking with respect to the power relations shaping the role of cities as global climate governors offers a means through which scholars can best contribute to augmenting the capacity for a just and effective urban contribution to the global effort.

Justice and power relations in urban greening: can Lisbon’s urban greening strategies lead to more environmental justice?

“…The local grassroots initiative in Marvila was able to advance its claims for more green space by 'riding the wave' of the European Green Capital 2020. While cities and city-networks are often placed outside of the local political domain (Gordon 2018) our analysis of urban greening in Lisbon shows how a global political agenda has a strong impact on local contexts and policy processes and how its principles and approaches are enacted and negotiated locally by the different actors involved.…”

“…Over the last years, cities started gaining a prominent role in global policy-making, both individually and through influential city-networks of different sorts and sizes (Gordon 2018). Issues related to climate change and environmental sustainability are now addressed at an urban level as well as through national, regional and global-scale action.…”

Superimposition: How Indian city bureaucracies are responding to climate change

“…In both academic and policy discussions, city governments are boosted as strategic institutions in the global response to climate change (Bouteligier, 2012;Castán Broto, 2017;Gordon, 2018;Rosenzweig et al, 2010;Solecki et al, 2018). In this flattering light, city governments are seen as innovative, experimental, and having the political and technical acumen to deploy low-carbon and resilient infrastructure (Acuto, 2013;Bai et al, 2018;Barber, 2013;Bouteligier, 2012;Boyd and Ghosh, 2013;Castán Broto and Bulkeley, 2013;Johnson et al, 2017;Sallis et al, 2015).…”

Limits to polycentricity? Institutional layering and policy feedbacks of building energy performance requirements in Sweden

“…Inspired by sustainability transition studies, this line of research has primarily analysed the nature of local initiatives and discussed their capacity to foster technical innovation, networking, and the building up of organisational infrastructures (see, e.g., Bulkeley, Castán Broto, & Maassen, 2011;Hoffmann, 2011;Rohracher & Späth, 2013). Increasingly, the effectiveness in terms of goal achievement and, for example, reduced greenhouse gas emissions of the local initiatives have also been investigated, with partly daunting results (Gordon, 2018;van der Ven et al, 2017). However, the wider policy effects of local initiatives are still largely overlooked (Gordon, 2018).…”

“…Increasingly, the effectiveness in terms of goal achievement and, for example, reduced greenhouse gas emissions of the local initiatives have also been investigated, with partly daunting results (Gordon, 2018;van der Ven et al, 2017). However, the wider policy effects of local initiatives are still largely overlooked (Gordon, 2018).…”