1st Edition
Cities Leading Climate Action Urban Policy and Planning
This book provides local governments and interested stakeholders with insights into the challenges and opportunities inherent in addressing climate change.
Drawing on in-depth case study research on Vancouver, Portland, Glasgow and Dublin, Dekker examines the policy development processes employed by urban policy makers to respond to climate change, looking specifically at the utilisation of collaborative planning. Emerging from the case studies are lessons for local governments in relation to the role of organisational structure in supporting climate leadership; the importance of leadership, trust, relationship building and narratives for supporting ownership of the responses to climate change by stakeholders; and the need for creative and innovative public engagement to expand the reach of traditional methods such as social media and other technology-based solutions. Finally, Dekker reflects on her experience in the development of climate change action plans for the Dublin Local Authorities.
This book will be of great relevance to students, scholars and policy makers with an interest in climate change resilience, environmental policy and urban planning.
List of illustrations
List of boxes
1 Cities leading on climate action
2 Governance structures for adaptive and collaborative
climate change action
3 Responding to climate change: formal to informal
4 Lessons for collaborative planning from practice
5 Dublin
6 Dublin: from theory to practice and back
Index
Biography
Sabrina Dekker is a climate change researcher, and holds a DPhil from the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, Ireland.
"In this book, the challenges to enhancing urban resilience and the choices facing policy makers are explored in detail in four case study cities. The book highlights the importance of flexibility and adaptability in urban governance and the necessity for appropriate institutional frameworks at the city level to bridge the reality of everyday urban living and national policy frameworks. This book will be an important resource not just for academics and students of planning, geography and environmental policy but also for practitioners and policy makers at local, regional and national scales." -- Niamh Moore-Cherry, Associate Professor, UCD School of Geography, Ireland
"Based on an investigation of cities’ experiences of planning for climate resilience, this book provides a thorough and enlightening insight into how theoretical understandings of adaptation and collaborative planning can be usefully put into practice. This book should form a key text for those seeking to understand the trials and tribulations faced by those planning for climate resilience at the urban scale." -- Barry O'Dwyer, Research Fellow, MaREI Centre, University College Cork, Ireland
"…Cities must spearhead the challenge to slow the impacts from climate change... In this book, four cities are studied to demonstrate urban resilience and provide policy options available to policy makers. The cases detailed highlight the importance of adaptability and flexibility in urban governance, and the necessity for appropriate institutional frameworks at the city level to bridge the reality of everyday urban living and national policy frameworks. This book will serve as a useful resource for academics and students in the fields of environmental policy, geography and planning. It will also be relevant to practitioners and policy makers at the local, regional and national levels." -- Seck Tan, Assistant Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of public Policy, National University of Singapore
"...Improving governance is crucial, and the author shows that co-operation and collaboration are required from national to local level… Dekker shows that planners can have a crucial role in bringing together different urban actors to face the climate crisis. However, she also proposes that stronger municipal governance is needed and cities have a lot to learn from each other. The suggestion that a directly-elected mayor with a strong mandate could improve resilience may not be popular in the Customs House, but ultimately may be the change that could strengthen the city’s ability to withstand some of the unknown shocks that changes in our climate will bring. It is a must-read for all citizens, and especially those interested in preparing for the unpredictable future that we face." - Ciaran Cuffe, Councillor, Dublin City Council, Ireland
"Addressing climate change is all about cities: 75% of the emissions reduction measures we need to take relate to cities and the resources they use now, and will use in coming years as we massively urbanise in emerging markets. The richer cities of the world can and need to be laboratories of how we can act - how we can shift quickly to a low-carbon future, and [how] we can make cities climate-resilient in the face of the climate volatility we are unleashing on the world. This book covers exactly that." -- Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative, UK
