WHOSE CITY BENCHMARKS ? The Role of the Critical Urbanist in Comparative Urban Measuring
In: International journal of urban and regional research
ISSN: 1468-2427
In: International journal of urban and regional research
ISSN: 1468-2427
In: International journal of urban and regional research
ISSN: 1468-2427
In: Diplomatica: a journal of diplomacy and society, Band 3, Heft 1, S. 137-146
ISSN: 2589-1774
Abstract
City diplomacy has a long history and has witnessed a clear sprawl over the last century. Successive "generations" of city diplomacy approaches have emerged over this period, with a heyday of networked urban governance in the last two decades. The covid-19 pandemic crisis presents a key opportunity to contemplate the direction of city diplomacy amid global systemic disruptions, raising questions about the effectiveness of differing diplomatic styles across cities but also the prospect of a new generational shift. This essay traces the history of generations in city diplomacy, examines prospects for novel ways of understanding city diplomacy, and contemplates how the pandemic's impact heralds not the demise of internationalization in urban governance but an era in which city diplomacy is even more crucial amid fundamental limitations.
In: Political geography: an interdisciplinary journal for all students of political studies with an interest in the geographical and spatial aspects, Band 61, S. 215-223
ISSN: 0962-6298
International audience ; The water-energy-food nexus has achieved considerable prominence across academic research and policy sectors. The nexus sets an imperative for integrated management and policymaking, centring on the potential trade-offs and complementarities between interdependent water, energy and food systems. Applications of the nexus focus largely on technical or managerial solutions and calls to acknowledge the political dimension of nexus interdependencies have implications for governance at the urban scale. This paper aims to 'urbanise' the nexus agenda and consider the implications of policy integration for urban governance. This examines the nexus in the context of current approaches to urban governance and power relations shaping the provision of water, energy and food in urban areas. Urban infrastructure networks underpin these resource systems and related management systems, although their management tends to operate in silos, with little joint decision-making and planning. Three hypotheses about the interplay between integrative policy framings and urban governance are explored to reconcile integrative policy framings at the urban scale: the appropriation of the nexus narrative by urban governments; re-establishment of political power through integrated management, and implementation of the nexus through smart city approaches. These hypotheses progress the political dimension of the nexus debate and reflect on the role of urban governance in addressing global challenges.
BASE
International audience ; The water-energy-food nexus has achieved considerable prominence across academic research and policy sectors. The nexus sets an imperative for integrated management and policymaking, centring on the potential trade-offs and complementarities between interdependent water, energy and food systems. Applications of the nexus focus largely on technical or managerial solutions and calls to acknowledge the political dimension of nexus interdependencies have implications for governance at the urban scale. This paper aims to 'urbanise' the nexus agenda and consider the implications of policy integration for urban governance. This examines the nexus in the context of current approaches to urban governance and power relations shaping the provision of water, energy and food in urban areas. Urban infrastructure networks underpin these resource systems and related management systems, although their management tends to operate in silos, with little joint decision-making and planning. Three hypotheses about the interplay between integrative policy framings and urban governance are explored to reconcile integrative policy framings at the urban scale: the appropriation of the nexus narrative by urban governments; re-establishment of political power through integrated management, and implementation of the nexus through smart city approaches. These hypotheses progress the political dimension of the nexus debate and reflect on the role of urban governance in addressing global challenges.
BASE
In: Global policy: gp, Band 8, Heft 1, S. 14-22
ISSN: 1758-5899
AbstractCities are increasingly capturing the attention of major international actors and now regularly feature in multilateral processes. Yet while there are many studies on networking among cities, there have been few studies of 'city networks' as formal and institutionalized governance structures facilitating city‐to‐city and city‐to‐other actors cooperation, or 'city diplomacy'. Institutionalized networks of cities, while not new, are becoming a growing presence on the international scene, almost omnipresent and perhaps even too common. Might it be time for a 'Darwinian' selection between city networking options? Diving deeper into this networked challenge, this essay focuses on the effects this networked diplomacy and overlap it might have on cities. Drawing on a research collaboration between the UCL City Leadership Laboratory at University College London and the World Health Organization's Healthy Cities Network and both a global dataset of city networks as well as qualitative focus group data, we consider the growth of these governance structures, their strengths, but also the weaknesses associated with their rapid growth, and how cities can engage with this networked landscape more strategically. In short, we argue that the potential of city networks must go hand‐in‐hand with more integrative and strategic thinking at both local and international levels.
In: Global policy: gp, Band 11, Heft 3, S. 293-304
ISSN: 1758-5899
AbstractCities are playing an increasingly vital role in global sustainability. Yet there is still little systematic and international evidence on the recognition and formal role of cities in multilateral affairs. Where and how are cities acknowledged as part of global efforts? How do the United Nations frame this 'urban' contribution to major international processes and agendas? To offer some initial evidence‐based pointers to this set of problems, we present an analysis of explicit references to cities in major UN frameworks (n = 32) underpinning the current Agenda 2030 on sustainable development. We investigate how cities are cited to determine the role, key themes and contextual trends framing the engagement between United Nations and cities. Contra arguments for the uniqueness of the current 'rise' of mayors, our review demonstrates a weak rise in the recognition of cities over time in UN frameworks and shows historical continuity in this acknowledgement since the 1970s. Our review confirms that two prevailing themes determining this are those of 'development' and the 'environment' but other issues (like 'infrastructure' and 'health') are following closely behind. It also highlights acknowledgment of cities as 'actors' is on the rise since the 2000s and raises fundamental questions as to the status of cities internationally. We argue it becomes imperative to more systematically and strategically think of the role of cities in the UN system, but also flag that raises fundamental challenges for multilateral governance.
Urban experts consider the future of night-time economies' governance during the pandemic and beyond in this scholarly and accessible guide. They use global case studies to illustrate a range of socio-economic issues in cities after dark, and investigate the role of public and private sectors and leaders in shaping urban planning and policy.
In: World development: the multi-disciplinary international journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development, Band 140, S. 105295
In: Territory, politics, governance, Band 11, Heft 3, S. 519-536
ISSN: 2162-268X
In: World development: the multi-disciplinary international journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development, Band 122, S. 130-141
World Affairs Online
In: Acuto , M , Steenmans , K , Iwaszuk , E & Ortega‐Garza , L 2018 , ' Informing urban governance? Boundary-spanning organisations and the ecosystem of urban data ' Area . DOI:10.1111/area.12430
In urban policy there is an increasing emphasis on the management and sharing of information in and about cities. This paper focuses on external sharing practices which are facilitated by boundary‐spanning organisations. Boundary‐spanning organisations are hybrid structures that provide a platform to link internal networks of the city government with external actors, and in particular focus on engaging various types of stakeholders. The paper offers a preliminary assessment of a sample of boundary‐spanning organisations based across six case studies (Barcelona, Chicago, London, Medellin, Mexico City and Seoul) and across three types of BSOs: living labs, innovation districts and sector‐oriented BSOs. Unpacking the shape and development of BSOs, and "placing" them in urban governance, we begin to sketch a preliminary agenda geared to offer a better appreciation of the "information ecosystem" underneath policy‐making in cities.
BASE
In: Cities and global governance 2
Introduction: Empowering Cities; Simon Curtis/ 1. - 1. The Meaning of Global Cities: Rethinking the Relationship between Cities, States and International Order; Simon Curtis/ 16 . - 2. The Common Sense of Global City 'Actorness' in Contemporary World Politics; Kristin Ljungkvist/ 32 . - 3. A Networked Urban World: Empowering Cities to Tackle Environmental Challenges; Sofie Bouteligier/ 57 . - 4. An Urban Affair: How Mayors Shape Cities for World Politics; Michele Acuto/ 69 . - 5. Globalization, Governance and the Production of Urban Socio-Ecological Space; Nik Janos and Corina Mckendry/ 89 . - 6. The International Activities of Canadian Cities: Are Canadian Cities Challenging the Gate-Keeper Position of the Federal Executive in International Affairs?; Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly/ 107 . - 7. Municipal Bonds and Global Power; Mark Amen/ 132 . - 8. Johannesburg: Financial 'Gateway' to Africa; Elizabeth Cobbett/ 151
World Affairs Online
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