scholarly journals Contextually rich sustainability assessment for supporting local urban governance - connecting indicators to institutions and controversies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pekka Halla ◽  
Albert Merino-Saum ◽  
Claudia R. Binder
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Housing System ◽  
Technical Aspects ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
The City

The concept of urban sustainability is growing in urgency and salience for local urban governance, and indicator-based assessments represent a popular means for its operationalization. While much effort has been spent developing the technical aspects of these assessments, less attention has been given to research concerning their potential for influencing real-world urban governance processes. To address this issue, we put forward an assessment approach that systematically embeds the assessed indicators within their social and institutional contexts, thereby aiming to enhance the relevance of the assessment for local governance. Specifically, the contextual embedding is achieved through the analysis of ongoing controversies related to the assessed problem. We apply the approach to an assessment of the City of Geneva’s (Switzerland) housing system. As the case study demonstrates, the proposed assessment approach can elucidate a richer picture of the challenges identified in the assessment than a typical quantitative-only analysis of indicators. Therefore, it offers more complete support to local governance stakeholders for learning about and acting upon the problem under assessment. Overall, the work reported in this article aims to contribute to a productive alliance between sustainability assessment methodologies and urban governance stakeholders, thereby leading to more informed steering of cities towards sustainability.

scholarly journals Neoliberal State Intervention and the Power of Community in Urban Regeneration: An Empirical Study of Three Village Redevelopment Projects in Guangzhou, China

2021 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2199466
Author(s):  
Siu Wai Wong ◽  
Xingguang Chen ◽  
Bo-sin Tang ◽  
Jinlong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Urban Regeneration ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Village Communities ◽  
The City

A key theme in urban governance research is how neoliberalism reshapes the state–society relationship. Our study on Guangzhou, where urban regeneration through massive redevelopment of “villages-in-the-city” uncovered interactions between the state, market, and community in local governance, contributes to this debate. Based on intensive field research to analyze three projects, we find that what really controls neoliberal growth in China is not simply the authoritarian tradition of the socialist state but also the power of the indigenous village communities. Our findings suggest that state intervention for community building is vital for rebalancing power relations between the state, market, and community.

Dual Legitimacy in the Development of the Network City - A Case Study of Kaohsiung City Council

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da-Chi Liao ◽  
Hsin-Che Wu ◽  
Chen-Hsun Li
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
City Council ◽  
Dual Systems ◽  
City Network ◽  
The City ◽  
Kaohsiung City

This paper discusses the theoretical rheology of local governance from the bureaucratic system to the network city and explores whether and how such a city network can be developed in a dual local government system. This paper suggests that, in dual systems, councilors are nodes which extend their networks, and councilors together can construct a more comprehensive network than a city executive branch alone does, so as to remedy the executive branch’s deficiencies concerning city affairs. This paper chooses Kaohsiung city council as its case study and provides evidence that the network developed by city council and councilors covers many city affairs which are ignored by the city executive branch. This result also implies that the network city may be better feasible in a dual local government system than in a unitary one.

scholarly journals Application of a decision support tool for industrial and agricultural water reuse solutions in international case studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-418
Author(s):  
Kristina Wencki ◽  
Verena Thöne ◽  
Dennis Becker ◽  
Kerstin Krömer ◽  
Isabelle Sattig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Feed Water ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Service Water ◽  
Assessment Approach

Abstract Treated wastewater is expected to constitute an essential part of the urban water cycle as an additional water resource in water-scarce or densely populated regions in the future. As decisions on the implementation of water recycling measures should always consider local conditions, the project ‘MULTI-ReUse: Modular treatment and monitoring for wastewater reuse’ has developed a comprehensive sustainability assessment tool, designed to support decision-makers in examining the technical feasibility, economic viability, ecological compatibility and social acceptance of alternative service water supply solutions at local level. This article describes the structure of this sustainability assessment tool and its underlying multi-criteria assessment approach based on 23 evaluation criteria. Already in the development phase, the tool was tested in a German and a Namibian case study. Both case studies are presented with a special focus on the technologies used and the results of the analysis with the sustainability assessment tool. Case study testing proved that the tool is applicable in various environmental and societal settings with widely differing climatic conditions, limited resource availability, for varying feed water qualities and water quality requirements. The comprehensive, straightforward assessment approach enabled the local users to identify the most sustainable supply system or strategy for their decision case.

scholarly journals Urbanisation and Urban Governance in Ghana: Identifying Key Actors and their Roles

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-102
Author(s):  
David Adade
Keyword(s):  
Urban Population ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
The Government ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Socioeconomic Benefits

The rapid increase in the urban population in Africa has created many urban challenges, including informalities, waste management problems, increased health risks, and growing urban poverty. With the unplanned spatial patterns and informalities that exist with the current urban population, this raises the question of whether African cities are ready to host more than 1.3 billion people by 2050 and still achieve urban sustainability. Using Ghana as a case study, this research undertook a critical review of urban population trends and their relation with economic growth. It identified the actors of urban governance in Ghana, as well as their roles, contributions and level of participation in urban governance processes. Findings indicate that most urban management decisions in Ghana are made by the government and exclude the non-governmental actors and citizens who bear the outcome of such decisions. This has resulted in deficiencies in actualising local needs, thus hindering the provision of urban services. The study proposes an inclusive and participatory form of urban governance with active participation of non-governmental actors and a paradigm shift from the existing urban management approaches to a more sustainable one that delivers socioeconomic benefits for more inclusive and sustainable cities in Africa in the future.

scholarly journals Street markets, urban development and immigrant entrepreneurship: Unpacking precarity in Moore Street, Dublin

Urban Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 004209802110409
Author(s):  
Cristín Blennerhassett ◽  
Niamh Moore-Cherry ◽  
Christine Bonnin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurship ◽  
Traditional Markets ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The City ◽  
Regulatory Landscapes

Traditional markets represent vital spaces of opportunity for livelihood-building, intercultural contact and for developing familiarity with the city. Yet, worldwide, markets are under pressure due to redevelopment agendas driven by neoliberalised forms of urban governance. Although precarious sites of occupation and employment, markets still maintain an attractiveness for immigrant micro-entrepreneurs as a foothold into the labour market and urban economy. Through a case study of the historic Moore Street market in central Dublin (Ireland), we explore the experiences of immigrant entrepreneurs. While these may be different in terms of their familiarity with the urban, institutional and regulatory landscapes, they are not entirely dissimilar from the experiences of longer-term traders in Moore Street. However what is evident is how precarity is tactically exploited by newcomer entrepreneurs for particular reasons. These traders prize the autonomy brought by market trading and use it as a meso-scale between low-paid waged employment and higher-level employment that may be out of reach for a variety of reasons. We argue that in examining urban precarity, increased attention should be paid to exploring the context-specific nature of the processes that give rise to it as well as the agentic capacity exercised to exploit it even within structural constraints.

Extreme municipal fiscal stress and austerity? A case study of fiscal reform after Chapter 9 bankruptcy

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 522-538
Author(s):  
Mark Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Urban Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fiscal Stress ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Urban Restructuring ◽  
Managing Risk ◽  
The City

Post-recession urban restructuring in the U.S. has involved national and state governments pushing budget problems to the local level, with municipalities implementing a variety of responsive reforms. Although the term “austerity” has often been used to characterize these reforms, others have argued municipal responses to fiscal stress have been largely “pragmatic”. Disagreement therefore exists about the extent to which austerity is a post-recession tendency across U.S. urban governance. However, there is a consensus that extreme municipal fiscal stress is linked to austerity restructuring. But can cities who have experienced extreme fiscal stress avoid austerity restructuring? This paper draws on research that examined bankruptcy-related reform in the City of Vallejo, California. In 2008, Vallejo became the first municipality to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy after the financial crisis. During and after its bankruptcy, the City has faced extreme budget problems, making it a prime candidate for austerity restructuring. However, research shows that Vallejo undertook a set of post-bankruptcy reforms—controlling labor costs, revenue raising, managing risk, participatory budgeting—that are not collectively characteristic of austerity or pragmatism. In conclusion, the paper reflects on the political and ideological factors that shaped Vallejo’s post-recession restructuring and how the City’s core fiscal problems have avoided resolution.

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