scholarly journals Theorizing Public Participation and Local Governance in Urban Resilience: Reflections on the “Provincializing Urban Political Ecology” Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10307
Author(s):  
Chihsin Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Urban Political Ecology ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Corporate Elites

Urban political ecology (UPE) infuses Marxism with poststructuralism and constructivism to explore the dialectic relationship between nature and society in urban environments as well as the economic aspect of an urban socioecological system. Nevertheless, the literature on southern urbanism has urged UPE to become more “provincialized” to reflect the diffuse forms of power and everyday governance influencing the planning of cities in the Global South. This article reviews and reflects on this wave of debates raised by critics who have positioned postcolonial thinking as an alternative to Marxist political economy, in which UPE is rooted. It also identifies those works that might help provincialize UPE differently. Without rejecting the Marxism, another set of approaches draws influence from the strategic-relational approach (SRA) to examine environmental issues in ways that destabilize conventionally economic determinist UPE. In addition to involving corporate elites and city officials, a UPE framework incorporating the SRA is capable of bringing the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community leaders, and environmentalists in everyday governance to the front. The article contends that the latter framework adds weight on public participation and local governance in different geopolitical contexts without losing sight of the social inequalities caused by state-led or privatized programs in the quest for urban resilience.

scholarly journals Opening a Path towards Sustainable Corporate Behaviour: Public Participation in Criminal Environmental Proceedings

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7886
Author(s):  
Pavel Kotlán ◽  
Alena Kozlová ◽  
Zuzana Machová
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
The Public ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

Establishing criminal liability for environmental offences remains daunting, particularly with regard to the ‘no plaintiff—no judge’ element as a result of which the public seems to be ultimately deprived of the possibility to participate in criminal environmental proceedings. While there is arguably a lack of specific instruments at the European Union (EU) level which would prescribe such legal obligation on the part of the State, there has been a shift in understanding the role of the public and its participation in criminal liability cases, namely under the auspices of the so-called effective investigation and the concept of rights of victims in general. Using the example of the Czech Republic as a point of reference, this article aims to assess the relevant legal developments at both EU and Czech levels to illustrate why the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), essentially acting as public agents, should be granted an active role in environmental criminal proceedings. After examining the applicable legal framework and case law development, the article concludes that effective investigation indeed stands as a valid legal basis for human rights protection which incorporates an entitlement to public participation. Despite that, this pro-active shift is far from being applied in practice, implying that the legislation remains silent where it should be the loudest, and causing unsustainable behaviour of companies.

scholarly journals Conservation narratives and conflicts over protected areas in post-socialist Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-104
Author(s):  
Marie Louise Aastrup
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Post Communism

Environmental protection is never a controversy-free endeavor. Conflicts arise over land ownership, use, and access. Political ecologists have paid extensive attention to protected areas, especially in relation to power, rights, and marginalized peoples. This article draws on political ecology to examine a new proposed national park in the context of post-communism and neoliberalization in Romania. Using mixed-methods (semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation), this research investigates conservation narratives as articulated by different actors (environmental non-governmental organizations, local decision-makers, and local community members) with various levels of involvement in the proposed national park. Three chief narratives can be observed pertaining to tourism, restrictions, and deforestation. These narratives are embedded in the history and socio-economic context of the area, but also reveal the agendas of different actors regarding landscape values. Assessing these narratives, this research reveals how actors position themselves and the points of contention among the different actors in the brewing conflict that the national park represents.Keywords: Political ecology, conservation, conflict, power

scholarly journals Emerging environmental Multi-Level Governance in China? Environmental protests, public participation and local institution-building

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Hensengerth ◽  
Yiyi Lu
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Local Institution ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Legal Constraints

Chinese state reforms have resulted in both horizontal and vertical diffusion of actors in policy-making and policy implementation, leading to the creation of new collaborative institutions between government and non-government actors. At the non-governmental level, this has inter alia enabled the development of non-governmental organizations and the passage of a raft of legislation for public participation and access to information. However, the political and legal constraints imposed by the authoritarian system have meant that private citizens still find it hard to make their voice heard. Public participation legislation has suffered from an implementation gap, leading to the proliferation of environmental protests across China. For private citizens, therefore, protest outside of the formal-legal channels is a key tool to influence the policy process and demand public participation and better government accountability. There are indications that protests may result in the improvement and creation of local institutions that facilitate public participation, which in turn help to foster a new model of governance that contains features of Multi-Level Governance.

Dezvoltare personală și feminism: O perspectivă sociologică asupra mișcărilor pentru drepturile femeilor în România neoliberală

Transilvania ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 51-61
Author(s):  
Elena Trifan
Keyword(s):  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

The article aims to analyze the ways in which personal development is used as a tool to manage social justice issues, domestic violence cases and other forms of structural inequality. In most works in the social sciences, self-help discourse has been criticized for reiterating the individualizing neoliberal discourse that leads to growing social inequalities, along with blaming the most vulnerable for their own fate. However, personal development as a practice has been used by organizations working at community level to address personal issues caused by social inequalities. The analysis aims to present the intertwining of global ideological and political plans at the individual level through non-governmental organizations, their projects and personal development courses. The research consisted in the analysis of the activities and projects of the organizations that are part of the Network for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (VIF) and the ethnography data of personal development practices in Romania from a previous research.

scholarly journals Nevyriausybinių organizacijų ir savivaldybių sąveika Lietuvoje: teoriniai sprendimų priėmimo ir įgyvendinimo proceso aspektai

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Aušra Šilinskytė
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

The paper is focused on the discussion about the role of non-governmental organizations during the decision-making process in local governance and what factors influence it. To achieve this, the following steps have been made: first, the concept of non-governmental organizations and their relationship with civil society was analyzed, then possible variations of relationship between non-governmental organizations and their impact to the public sector was described. In the last part of the paper, the stages of the decision–making and implementation process in the municipality were analyzed and theoretical aspects of enabling NGOs were discussed. The analyses showed that the decision-making and implementation processes depend on the understanding of the need to cooperate, the ability of both subjects to work together, their relationship with citizens and other interest groups.

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF CITY COUNCILS FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
H. Burçin HENDEN ŞOLT
Keyword(s):  
Local Governance ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Active Role ◽  
City Council ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Heterogeneous Structure ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
City Councils ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

The process of change in the management approaches of cities encourages stakeholder participation. Multi-actor, transparent and controllable urban administrations should be the basic vision of modern cities. Because the heterogeneous structure is like a symbol of cities. It is important for the governance approach to have environments where different interest groups can come together for social reconciliation. City councils are examples of this situation. In the understanding of local government, there is a flow in favor of locality. This situation is valuable for local democracy. Effective and efficient participation of urban people in decisions contributes to accountability, social solidarity, and citizen awareness. Members of public, private, and non-governmental organizations can participate in city councils. It is therefore strong in terms of governance. The aim of this study is to examine the place and importance of city councils in terms of urban democracy. First of all, the conceptual framework of the phenomena is emphasized. Then, the roles in the establishment of local democracy through the structure of city councils are discussed. It is possible to realize the principles of governance in the functioning of city councils. Governance and city councils will play an active role in bringing a positive vision to cities. Therefore, city council activities that can work efficiently should be supported.

Urban political ecology II

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nik Heynen
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Uneven Development ◽  
White Supremacist ◽  
Urban Political Ecology ◽  
Metropolitan Growth ◽  
The Press ◽  
Indigenous Theory ◽  
Indigenous Perspectives

Attention to the urban and metropolitan growth of nature can no longer be denied. Nor can the intense scrutiny of racialized, postcolonial and indigenous perspectives on the press and pulse of uneven development across the planet’s urban political ecology be deferred any longer. There is sufficient research ranging across antiracist and postcolonial perspectives to constitute a need to discuss what is referred to here as ‘abolition ecology’. Abolition ecology represents an approach to studying urban natures more informed by antiracist, postcolonial and indigenous theory. The goal of abolition ecology is to elucidate and extrapolate the interconnected white supremacist and racialized processes that lead to uneven develop within urban environments.

scholarly journals Transformation from Below in Bangladesh: Decentralization, local governance, and systemic change

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 1668-1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEAN-PAUL FAGUET
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Joint Product ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Government Responsiveness

AbstractI examine decentralization through the lens of the local dynamics it unleashed in Bangladesh. I argue that the national effects of decentralization are largely the sum of its local-level effects. Hence, to understand decentralization, we must first understand how local government works. This implies analysing not only decentralization, but also democracy, from the bottom up. I present a model of local government responsiveness as the product of political openness and substantive competition. The quality of politics, in turn, emerges endogenously as a joint product of the lobbying and political engagement of local firms/interests, and the organizational density and ability of civil society. I then test these ideas using qualitative data from Bangladesh. The evidence shows that civic organizations worked with non-governmental organizations and local governments to effect transformative change from the grass roots upwards—not just to public budgets and outputs, but to the underlying behaviours and ideas that underpin social development. In the aggregate, these effects were powerful. The result, key development indicators show, is Bangladesh leap-frogging past much wealthier India between 1990 and 2015.

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