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The thesis looks into the role of government policies on group-specific rights tohether with social context in shaping identity narratives of diasporic communities. It includes case study of one such community.

There has been a marked increase in comparative research examining the dynamics of regime formation in the United Kingdom and the United States. These authors consider regime formation processes in three deindustrializing cities: Detroit, Michigan, and Birmingham and Sheffield, England. The article identifies two cross-cutting themes: the effects of national/international political and economic forces on local governance and the role of public and private interactions in regime formation. Finally, in an attempt to enlarge the scope of regime theory, the authors develop a comparative perspective on urban governance based on the concepts of governing structures and policy agendas.

Practices in the assessment and management of social impacts play an important role in the development of urban transport infrastructure megaprojects. Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is an internationally recognised process used to predict, assess and manage impacts aimed at securing an equitable distribution of social benefits and costs. However, practitioners applying SIA face significant challenges in balancing strategic policy objectives and specific project aims. The pilot study for this research suggested practitioners have limited influence on long-term social outcomes as their involvement is constrained by political decision-making and planning approval processes. Using a qualitative analysis of three rail infrastructure megaprojects from two urban geographical contexts, Sydney (Australia) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands), this research investigated what constrains and influences the assessment and management of social impacts. It considered relationships between urban geographical context and practices in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and management. Research methods included document analysis, field observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with practitioners, professionals and academics. The thesis argues that over-emphasis of technical (financial and engineering) aspects during urban and transport planning risks decision-makers undervaluing social impacts in projects. The implementation of good practice SIA, follow-up, and the management of impacts is constrained by a tension between governance priorities at multiple spatial scales. It suggests that adaptive management and governance to respond to social change over time is essential. The thesis concludes that practice must be supported by effective integration with project management, urban governance and planning to improve social outcomes from transport infrastructure megaprojects.

The improvement in city-level carbon efficiency (CE) is crucial for China to achieve its CO2 emission targets. Based on the panel data from 2003 to 2017, total factor CE values of 283 prefecture-level cities were measured using the super-efficiency SBM model. Through the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), we found that the average city-level CE from 2003 to 2017 showed a "W"-type growth trend. Additionally, there are significant spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependency characteristics of city-level CE. The results of local spatial correlation analysis showed that the Low–Low clusters are distributed in all cities of Shanxi and Northern Shaanxi, and gradually expand to Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and Hebei over time, and the High–High clusters are mainly located in the southeast coastal cities and central and eastern Sichuan. High–Low clusters are generally scattered in cities with relatively superior political–economic status in Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China, and gradually concentrated in North China during 2003–2017. Additionally, the dynamic spatial econometric model was employed to investigate the influencing factors of CE, and we found that the city-level CE has the characteristic of path dependence on time. Factors such as industrial structure upgrading and environmental regulation have significant improvement effects on city-level CE, while technological progress, financial development, energy intensity, and government intervention can significantly inhibit city-level CE. Compared with short-term effects, the long-term effects are insignificant with higher absolute values, indicating the long-term persistence and gradual strengthening characteristics of driving factors on city-level CE; however, the acting long-term mechanism has not been formed. Additionally, the regional spillover effect of driving factors on CE is more significant in the short term. Based on the empirical results, some policy implications for cities to improve CE are proposed.

The "new urban governance" has made rapid inroads as an approach to govern the transition to more environmentally sustainable buildings and cities. It allows for a broad repertoire of actors and instruments in the governing of this transition and is expected to overcome some of the pervasive problems of mandatory regulation and legislation for urban development and transformation. This article studies six new urban governance practices in India based on a series of interviews with relevant actors. It seeks to better understand the opportunities and risks of this approach to urban governance for governing India's rapid urbanization. It finds that the new urban governance holds some promise but is also critical of it. Particularly, the lack of mandatory urban regulation and legislation, the lack of institutional capital, and a culture of corruption in India undermine the promise that the new urban governance holds in this context.

The "new urban governance" has made rapid inroads as an approach to govern the transition to more environmentally sustainable buildings and cities. It allows for a broad repertoire of actors and instruments in the governing of this transition and is expected to overcome some of the pervasive problems of mandatory regulation and legislation for urban development and transformation. This article studies six new urban governance practices in India based on a series of interviews with relevant actors. It seeks to better understand the opportunities and risks of this approach to urban governance for governing India's rapid urbanization. It finds that the new urban governance holds some promise but is also critical of it. Particularly, the lack of mandatory urban regulation and legislation, the lack of institutional capital, and a culture of corruption in India undermine the promise that the new urban governance holds in this context. ; The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This article was supported by a VENI grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (grant number 45111015) and a DECRA grant from the Australian Research Council (grant number DE15100511).