Article
Local Leadership and Global Goals: How City Sustainability Networks are Changing Progressive Policy-Making. Metropolitics/Metropolitiques
Metropolitics/Metropolitiques
(2018)
Abstract
The global nature of environmental crises has historically led to phrases like ‘think globally, act locally,’ emphasizing the need to acknowledge the broad impacts of human development. As national governments struggle to implement policies to address global climate change, cities are becoming the practical centers of policy innovation for sustainability. The stark contrast between national and city leadership is particularly evident in the United States where hundreds of city mayors have signed climate pledges even as the U.S. federal government plans to withdraw from one of the most proactive international treaties to date.
Our research revealed that mayors still struggle to institutionalize sustainability within the fabric of the local government. Since signing pledges and passing non-binding resolutions is fairly low-cost and high-reward in terms of political popularity, there is a danger that mayors will lean too heavily on these tactics—committing to goals without achieving them. Through a combination of publicly valuing sustainability, seeking and securing external support through networks of peer cities, as well as institutionalizing sustainability by building internal capacity, mayors are playing a major role in addressing global environmental and climate challenges locally.
Keywords
- sustainability,
- cities,
- networks
Publication Date
September, 2018
Citation Information
French, Emma, Supraja Sudharsan, Jennifer Clark. (2018). Local Leadership and Global Goals: How City Sustainability Networks are Changing Progressive Policy-Making. Metropolitics/Metropolitiques. CUNY: New York.