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Putting Sustainable Development into Practice? The role of local policy partnership networks
Local Environment
Abstract
This paper examines how the concept of sustainable development is being put into practice by local policy partnership networks. We suggest that due to the highly contested nature of the concept, these networks are facing problems in trying to unravel what sustainable development actually means. Few organisations are grappling with the more fundamental implications of the concept and, as a result, policies for sustainability are being developed cheek by jowl with those of economic growth and competitiveness. Moreover, established local policy networks play a dominant role in defining a vision of sustainable development to the detriment of groups outside the policy process. Mechanisms and institutions need to be established to widen participation and debate on the issue and to draw upon lessons and ideas from organisations outside established networks, such as environmental and campaign groups, third sector organisations, community associations and socially responsible businesses.
... This is surprising because many of these studies simultaneously recognise that sustainable development is a concept with critical potential. Sustainable development poses a challenge to society, policy networks and priorities of economic development ( [5] Chatterton and Style 2001). As a political process, it may become oppositional toward traditional local government policies with an emphasis on economic development ( [8] Eckerberg and Forsberg 1998). ...
... Rowe and Shephered 2002), new networks for local policy makers ([24] Selman and Parker 1999), and opportunities to define focal problems and develop relevant, creative and provocative visions ([5] Chatterton and Style 2001). Moreover, public participation can help policy makers reach better decisions and eliminate planning mistakes because citizens' local and experimental knowledge complements their own professional expertise and scientific knowledge ([10] Feichtinger and Pregernig 2005,[3] ...
In governance structure legitimacy is required not only of the governing system, local authorities or public organisations but also of other participants, including citizens. The legitimacy cannot be judged either by traditions of representative democracy or by innovative theories of deliberative or participatory democracy. The article analyses scientific publications on citizen participation in local governance. It asks how empirical studies on local sustainable development planning (SDP) and New Public Management (NPM) practices construct legitimate citizen participation. In general, studies on citizen participation have not conceptualised the relations between citizens and power holders as questions of legitimacy. However, the studies approaching citizen participation in the local processes of SDP and NPM include various empirical, theoretical and normative arguments for citizen participation. These arguments recognise, accept and support particular activities, arguments and outcomes of citizen participation, and include and exclude agents and issues. They construct and reflect the definition of legitimacy in the local governance. As constructed by scientific texts, justifications for citizen participation reproduce a discursive structure in which citizen participation becomes marginalised and citizens’ views excluded. The results illustrate that discursive structures of legitimate citizen participation support conventional governing practices and hinder innovative practices in local governance.
... Various types of cross-sectoral partnerships in the EU can play an important role in educating local communities, and promoting and supporting investments beneficial for the shift towards LCE (Chatterton & Style, 2001), including Local Action Groups (LAGs) (Furmankiewicz & Janc, 2011;Kola-Bezka, 2023). LAGs operate mostly as associations for the sustainable socio-economic development of territorially compact areas, usually smaller than administrative regions, and group together local stakeholders representing the public, business, social and voluntary sectors. ...
Actions to counteract and adapt to rapid climate change caused by human activity require large-scale initiatives undertaken by international agencies and central governments as well as changes in the functioning of local economies and communities. In this article, we analyze the possibilities of involving rural territorial partnerships (so-called Local Action Groups; LAGs) in supporting the transformation of the EU local socio-economic systems towards a low-carbon economy (LCE). LAGs operate as associations of local stakeholders from the public, business, social and voluntary sectors and work for local socio-economicdevelopment. They can implement projects supporting energy transformation at three levels: as cooperation projects between LAGs and external institutions, as individual (own) projects, and by supporting grassroots initiatives of local stakeholders. In this paper we present examples of such activities, based on content analysis of LAGs strategic documents and websites. We point out that the potential of LAGs in supporting initiatives towards LCE is currently underused, which may be due to the low social awareness and low financial resources of local communities. However, LAGs have significant potential to support local pro-environmental initiatives using neo-endogenous development mechanisms, in which voluntary local actions are stimulated by external support.
... Upon evaluation, we find that there is still room for improvement in current local policies. In the process of formulating and implementing local policies, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the specific problems of the province and fully tap and use the advantageous resources of the region to ensure that the policies and measures meet the actual needs [51]. Therefore, local policies must pay attention to the province's specific problems and advantageous resources. ...
The eco-environmental protection policy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is paramount in upholding biodiversity and fostering sustainable development within the Yangtze River Basin. To assess the effectiveness of this policy, an evaluation system was established utilising text mining and the PMC-Index model. Subsequently, thirteen representative policies were evaluated, and their performance was visualised through PMC-Surface plots. The study showed that nine of the thirteen representative policies were assessed as “Excellent”, the remaining four were assessed as “Acceptable”, and no policy was assessed as either “Perfect” or “Poor”. It shows that the general design of the eco-environmental protection policy of the YREB is reasonable and scientific but still has much to improve. The performance is as follows: short- and medium-term policies are the most prevalent, while long-term planning is lacking; the issuing agency is relatively single, and the awareness and capacity of collaborative governance need to be strengthened; the regulatory scope of local policies does not focus on the YREB as a whole. Based on this, subsequent policies should be improved by focusing on policy timeliness, the policy issuing agency, and the regulation scope.
... Policy strategies have also been implicated in slowing eco-innovation (del Rio et al., 2010). Business tends to be reactive rather than proactive towards sustainable development, particularly if it is enforced by policy (Chatterton and Style, 2001). The lack of involvement of the consumer in any analysis has also been identified as problematic (Hertwich, 2005). ...
... Therefore, in the current challenging climatic environment, relying on technological solutions alone is not enough and thus, this briefing article (and the research) emphasises that considering human-based solutions to achieve an absolute decoupling is one of the essential requirements for the economy. This is reinforced by the fact that absolute decoupling presents a means of discovering a middle ground or consensus between conventional economic growth and waste reduction in order to protect the environment, and, it can also be argued, as representing a 'highly contested' type of sustainable development (Chatterton and Style, 2001). ...
This briefing article presents the waste issues and concerns from a broader environmental perspective. In doing so, the briefing demonstrates a significant and complex relationship between environmental solutions and waste management techniques. Shedding light on such an association enables the author to argue about current dominant waste management solutions (recycling and recovery) and other technological solutions - rethinking problems rather than solving them. Simultaneously, the reader is directed towards the importance of reuse, which is currently overshadowed in the waste hierarchy by the term 'preparing-for-reuse'.
... In 2001, "one of the few agreements within the sustainable development debate was that there is no clear agreement on what the term means" (Chatterton & Style, 2001). Research continued as the sustainability question became more and more important because of global warming and calculations of fossil fuels reserves. ...
Today the terms sustainable development and sustainable innovation are often used. But what is meant by these terms, other than that they in some ways are connected to the terms “green” and “ecological” seen in a long term perspective? How, in turn, are sustainable innovations developed? Studying the literature on the topic leads to the conclusion that there is no precise or established definition of sustainable innovation, sustainability and sustainable development.
A conclusion in the paper is that we now need to focus on how to develop new sustainable innovations, and for these, product development is the most important element. It has been found that Dynamic Product Development (DPD™) is a model that satisfies the different definitions on sustainability that have been proposed.
The result of a product development project is based on the product developer’s knowledge, experience, and ability. The leadership of an entrepreneur (or intrapreneur) is also important for the level of sustainability of an innovation that is achieved. Therefore, the product developers and entrepreneurs need to be educated in a broader perspective than is common in the technical field today. The product developers must also be monitored in the actual work situation to ensure that new products that are not sustainable are not being marketed. This, in turn, calls for a similar, broader perspective in management education.
To describe what a sustainable innovation is and how it is developed, the following definitions are proposed: a sustainable solution is a solution that has been developed to be a long –lasting, environmentally responsible solution for the provider (the business), the society and also the users; an innovation is a new solution that has been “sold” and is used by more than one user, or that is used in at least one use-situation; the innovation process, done as an innovation project, contains all of the stages from idea generation, development (R&D) and commercialization, to an implemented solution on the market.
... The discourses that help frame and respond to wicked problems coevolve with the patterns of relationships among engaged parties (Hajer and Versteeg 2005). As a result, power relations, emerging from formal institutional arrangements and informal network structures, can have an important influence on the way wicked problems of sustainability are framed and responses are defined (Chatterton and Style 2001). ...
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a priority issue for forest and climate policy in Indonesia, and REDD+ policy-making activity has been characterized by considerable public consultation. Despite this engagement, discussions on REDD+ in Indonesia are reported to have remained top-down, a disconcerting pattern when adaptive governance and transformational change require cross-scale and cross-sectoral communication. Explicitly modeling the patterns of information exchange related to REDD+ can clarify these claims and help identify potential barriers to the transformational change needed to implement REDD+. We used data obtained through semistructured and structured interviews held in 2011 with representatives from a broad range of organizations (N = 64), formally or informally involved in the national REDD+ policy processes in Indonesia, to study REDD-related information exchange. Adopting a social network analysis approach, we found that (1) organizations perceived as most influential in REDD+ policy formulation, often, but not exclusively, those with institutional authority over particular aspects of REDD+, tend not to seek information from other actors and (2) organizations exchange information primarily within three clusters of similar organizations, with weak connections between clusters. This evidence suggests weak information exchange between the national government, national civil society, and transnational actors. We contend that the emergence of brokers able to connect these different clusters will be crucial for effective and inclusive REDD+ governance in Indonesia.
... Other authors have noted the importance of local non-profit organisations in green affordable housing (Bradshaw et al. 2005); urban agriculture (Travaline and Hunold 2010); improvement of neighbourhood quality (Urban Institute 2005); and crime reduction (Kuo and Sullivan 2001, Donovan and Prestemon 2011, Branas et al. 2011). Research has also indicated an important link between active citizen groups, community-based nonprofits , and the advancement of municipal policies and planning towards local environmental improvements (Chatterton and Style 2001, Portney and Cuttler 2010). ...
In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environmental policy regime of Philadelphia, through a citywide survey (N = 40) and interviews with leaders from three types of CBOs: community development corporations (CDCs), civic associations (CAs), and business-improvement organisations. We found that CBOs of all types have changed their organisational missions and identities in response to their pursuit of sustainability goals, but that CDCs more so than either CAs or business organisations have integrated sustainability into their governance structures. Second, we found that a growing number of CBOs have expanded their work to involve environmental policy and programming. Third, we found that the work of local non-profit organisations has become directly linked to the city's broader sustainability plan, Greenworks.
... The UK is one of a handful of countries with a co-ordinated national LA21 strategy with more than 93% of municipalities having developed LA21 strategies this is encouraging when compared with France where there is less than 1% (ICLEI 2002). Despite the widespread acceptance of Agenda 21 in the UK, as a process, it remains under-resourced and at the margin of many local government structures; it receives little support amongst senior officers and is frequently undermined by the toplevel strategic plans of councils (Chatterton 2001). ...
In this paper, we postulate that some of the best opportunities for reducing energy demand and carbon emissions are through stronger involvement and leadership from local government. We show that local government can and do have a significant impact on both energy production and energy consumption and
are important participants for the implementation of distributed generation (DG). the progress being made by successful local governments can be narrowed to three key factors. First, they have all recognised the co-benefits of a local energy strategy: a reduction in fuel poverty, increased employment, improved quality
of life and mitigation of uncertain fuel supplies and prices. Secondly, successful councils have strong political leadership and employee support to implement the structural change to bring about change. Thirdly, leading councils have gained momentum by working in partnership with utilities, private companies, NGO’s,
DNO’s and government departments to raise finance and garner support. While climate change remains a global issue, some of the best strategies for mitigation are implemented at the local level.
... The UK is one of a handful of countries with a co‐ordinated national LA21 strategy with more than 93% of municipalities having developed LA21 strategies this is encouraging when compared with France where there is less than 1% (ICLEI 2002). Despite the widespread acceptance of Agenda 21 in the UK, as a process, it remains under‐resourced and at the margin of many local government structures; it receives little support amongst senior officers and is frequently undermined by the top‐ level strategic plans of councils (Chatterton 2001). The growing emphasis of local decision‐making is in direct conflict with the increasingly prominent role of supranational organisations, such as the European Union, and multi‐ national energy companies that are having increasingly prominent roles over national and international energy‐policy (Burton and Hubacek 2007). ...
"What will electricity and heat demand look like in a low-carbon world? Ambitious environmental targets will modify the shape of the electricity sector in the twenty-first century. 'Smart' technologies and demand-side management will be some of the key features of the future of electricity systems in a low-carbon world. Meanwhile, the social and behavioural dimensions will complement and interact with new technologies and policies. Electricity demand in the future will increasingly be tied up with the demand for heat and for transport. The Future of Electricity Demand looks into the features of the future electricity demand in light of the challenges posed by climate change. Written by a team of leading academics and industry experts, the book investigates the economics, technology, social aspects, and policies and regulations which are likely to characterize energy demand in a low-carbon world. It provides a comprehensive and analytical perspective on the future of electricity demand"-- "Opening remarks This book aims to shed light on the future demand for electricity in the light of the challenges posed by climate change. In the UK we have a formal target for the reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of 80 per cent by 2050 (on 1990 levels). Official publications regularly suggest that reducing overall energy demand is an important part of meeting that target"--
... In this sense, the primary role of the city government is to serve as a catalyst that connects neighborhood groups with community gardens, the broader local food system, and local nonprofit organizations and funders. Some of the most successful programs at present are based upon multi-organizational partnership models (Chatterton and Style, 2001;Evans, 2002). In this mode, as cities connect community gardening to general plans for greenspace development and utilization, they also bridge three important goals: recreation, food provisioning, and neighborhood development. ...
Prepublication version available at www.davidjhess.net. There are creative, affordable ways to address community development and also achieve goals of environmental sustainability. Approximately thirty case studies, based on interviews and usually also site visits, were completed during 2005. The case studies examined community gardening and urban agriculture, the greening of publicly controlled urban electricity and bus agencies, reuse centers and local business associations in the United States. Policy recommendations for city governments that emerged from the case studies are summarized here. There are many opportunities for financially pressed cities to assist the development of ‘just sustainability’ projects with minimal financial commitments. They can do so by rechannelling the purchasing decisions of public agencies, building partnerships with community organizations and developing the small business sector.*This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under the grant ‘Sustainable Technology, the Politics of Design, and Localism’ (SES-00425039). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
... Nowadays, " network coordination " is the governance solution that better satisfies the holistic approach to sustainable development. The establishment of local partnerships between public authorities, business companies and the third sector, as well as representatives of the community, arises in response to the perceived inadequacies of an excessive market-based and state-dependent policy measures (Chatterton & Style 2001). Finally, the implementation of a governance model of sustainable development and its effectiveness in local development depends on a variety of aspects. ...
The increased interconnection among local and global players induced by globalization, as well as the need for a complete application of the 'subsidiarity principle', calls for a re-thinking of the 'corporate social responsibility' concept. This new concept broadens the perspective of the single company interacting with its own stakeholders in relation to specific social and environmental impacts, to a network of organizations, with different aims and natures, collaborating on relevant sustainability issues. In this paper, the authors will provide a definition of 'Territorial Social Responsibility', sustaining the multi-stakeholder approach as a driver toward local sustainable development. Firstly, theoretical approaches to sustainable development at the territorial level will be examined, identifying the most innovative ideas about governance, network relation and development theories. The idea of development focuses not only on the economic aspects, but on the structural and institutional factors. The existence of cooperative territorial networks is essential to fulfil the creation of tangible and intangible assets at the local level. At the same time, the effectiveness of the decision-making and rules' system can stimulate and empower territorial networks to tackle sustainable development. An analytical framework, scheme-shaped, will be set in order to identify the main aspects, indicators and practices characterizing the territorial social responsibility concept. It will represent a first attempt to create a feasible instrument aimed at understanding how cooperative social responsible actors, operating in the same territory, could direct the path toward sustainable development.
Çevresel kaynaklar kentsel gelişimin mihenk taşıdır (Freeman, 1945) ve kentler tarih boyunca su, mineraller, petrol ve gaz gibi kaynaklara kolay erişilebilen yerlerde gelişmiştir. Doğal kaynakların varlığı ve kullanımı, kentlerin oluşumunu ve şekillenmesini etkileyen en önemli etken olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Başta toprak, arazi varlığı ve enerji kullanımı olmak üzere doğal kaynakların kullanımı kentlerin büyümesi ve şekillenmesinde en önemli rolü oynamaktadır. Kentsel yaşamda özellikle sanayinin gelişmesi, kentlerin hızla yapılaşması, kentsel alanların genişlemesi ve hızlı nüfus artışı gibi sebeplerden insanların doğa ve çevre üzerindeki baskısı giderek artmıştır. Bu nedenle tarih boyunca peyzajların karakterlerini korumak ve geliştirmek adına birçok politikalar geliştirilmiş ve uygulamalar yapılmıştır. Örneğin İngiltere’de “bahçe kent” ile Ebenhazer Howard, yeşilyolların önemli örneklerinden olan Emerald Necklase ile Frederick Law Olmsted, banliyö sisteminin oluşturulmasına öncülük eden Lewis Mumford da Garden City teoremi ile kentlerin kontrolsüzce genişlemesinin sınırlandığı ve kentlerin doğa ile daha uyumlu bir ilişki kurduğu gelişim modelleri hedeflediler. Bu uygulamalar; kentlerin tamamen doğadan koptuğu ve doğanın yok sayıldığı kentleşme anlayışının önüne geçerek, insanın ve toplumun doğaya yabancılaşmasını azaltmayı ve doğaya daha uyumlu kentsel gelişme modelleri kurmayı hedeflediler. Açık alanlar kentsel alan bütününde sürekliliği kesintiye uğramadan, bütünlüğünü koruyarak ve çok amaçlı planlanarak hem mekân hem zaman boyutunda işlevlerini yerine getirebileceklerdir. Kentsel alan içinde yeşil altyapı sistemlerinin kurgulanması ile bir yandan kentin rekreasyonel ihtiyaçları karşılanırken diğer yandan ekolojik dengenin korunması da hedeflenmektedir. Kentsel alanların kendilerini kuşatan yarı doğal ve doğal alanlarla olan bağını ekosistem bütününde ekolojik koridorlar yaklaşımıyla ele alan “yeşil yol” modeli hem kent içinde hem de kent çevresinde ekosistem dengesinin korunmasını hedeflemektedir. Yeşil kuşaklar ise peyzajın planlamasında, kent çevresinde büyük ölçüde gelişmemiş, doğal alanları veya tarımsal arazileri korumak için oluşturulan politikalar bütünü ve alan kullanım tanımlamalardır (LCPC, 2009). Yeşil Altyapı ise, birçok ekosistem hizmetleri sunmak, kentsel ve kırsal alanlarda biyoçeşitliliği korumak için tasarlanmış, doğal ve yarı doğal alanların planlanmasını hedefleyen bir açık alan yönetim stratejisi olarak tanımlanabilir. Daha spesifik olarak, doğadan insanlara yarar sağlayan fiziki bir yapı olan “Yeşil Altyapı”, temiz hava veya su gibi çok sayıda değerli ekosistem ürünü ve hizmeti sağlamayı ve bunların geliştirilmesini hedefler. Bu çalışmada birer mekânsal planlama aracı olarak yeşil yol (greenways), yeşil kuşak (greenbelt) ve yeşil altyapı (green infrastructure) kavramlarına yönelik genel bir değerlendirme yapılması amaçlanmıştır.
What will electricity and heat demand look like in a low-carbon world? Ambitious environmental targets will modify the shape of the electricity sector in the twenty-first century. 'Smart' technologies and demand-side management will be some of the key features of the future of electricity systems in a low-carbon world. Meanwhile, the social and behavioural dimensions will complement and interact with new technologies and policies. Electricity demand in the future will increasingly be tied up with the demand for heat and for transport. The Future of Electricity Demand looks into the features of the future electricity demand in light of the challenges posed by climate change. Written by a team of leading academics and industry experts, the book investigates the economics, technology, social aspects, and policies and regulations which are likely to characterize energy demand in a low-carbon world. It provides a comprehensive and analytical perspective on the future of electricity demand.
Przedmiotem analiz monografii są wybrane struktury i relacje społeczne w partnerstwach
terytorialnych (a dokładniej w lokalnych grupach działania LEADER) działających na obszarach wiejskich w Polsce i wspieranych finansowo w ramach funduszy Unii Europejskiej dostępnych w okresie programowania 2007–2013. We wstępie pracy omówiono pojęcia partnerstwa w zarządzaniu zasobami lokalnymi, koncepcję reprezentacji funkcjonalnej, zagadnienia
partycypacji społecznej oraz pojęcia tokenizmu i klientelizmu. Przedstawiono związki idei
tworzenia lokalnych grup działania z koncepcją współzarządzania terytorialnego (territorial
governance) i podejściem racjonalnego wyboru w działaniach wspólnych, wskazującego na
teoretyczne korzyści ze współpracy grupowej w zarządzaniu zasobami.
W części empirycznej praca koncentruje się na przestrzennej analizie ilościowej wybranych struktur społecznych, obserwowanych w lokalnych grupach działania (LGD) na poziomie terytorialnym pojedynczych LGD, 16 województw i trzech głównych regionów historyczno kulturowych Polski. Szczególną uwagę zwrócono na rady decyzyjne, które były ważnym
elementem procesów współzarządzania zasobami LGD, gdyż dokonywały wyboru projektów
lokalnych, które uzyskiwały dofinansowanie ze środków Unii Europejskiej. Stwierdzono, iż
w 53% LGD w Polsce, wbrew zaleceniom Unii Europejskiej, osoby związane z sektorem publicznym stanowiły więcej niż 50% składu rad decyzyjnych. W 58% LGD wystąpiły przypadki
zależności służbowej wśród członków tych rad. Władze publiczne starały się w wielu przypadkach zachować dominującą kontrolę nad środkami zarządzanymi przez LGD poprzez wprowadzanie do rad decyzyjnych urzędników deklarujących reprezentowanie sektora społecznego (nazywanych w pracy „ukrytym sektorem publicznym”, który jest traktowany jako przejaw
tokenizmu) oraz poprzez wprowadzanie do nich urzędników podległych służbowo (sytuacja
gdy w radzie decyzyjnej zasiada jednocześnie wójt, burmistrz gminy lub ich zastępcy i podlegli im służbowo pracownicy gminy, co wiązane jest z klientelizmem terytorialnym). Działania
takie nie są zgodne z ideą współzarządzania zasobami, promowaną w programach Unii Europejskiej, według której powinno dążyć się do równoważenia wpływu różnych grup interesu,
w tym zapewnić wysoki udział interesariuszy prywatnych (sektora ekonomicznego i społecznego) w zarządzaniu zasobami publicznymi. Poszukiwane są związki struktur społecznych
LGD z lokalnymi uwarunkowaniami ekonomicznymi i społecznymi (w tym politycznymi).
Przeprowadzone zostają własne klasyfikacje LGD w Polsce za pomocą metod ilościowych. Następnie dokonano analizy sieciowej wybranych relacji społecznych w radach decyzyjnych i procesów związanych ze współzarządzaniem dostępnymi zasobami przez trzy główne grupy interesu: sektor publiczny, społeczny i ekonomiczny. Analizowane są ewentualne
związki badanych relacji ze stwierdzonymi wcześniej strukturami społecznymi. Stwierdzono
m.in. negatywny związek „ukrytego sektora publicznego” ze współczynnikami gęstości relacji
zaufania. Poszukiwane są także korelacje preferencji rozwojowych, wyrażonych w celach strategicznych i strukturach budżetu LGD, z analizowanymi strukturami społecznymi LGD.
W podsumowaniu skoncentrowano się na dyskusji różnic regionalnych pomiędzy badanymi cechami lokalnych grup działania w Polsce i na problemach stosowania modelu współ-
zarządzania terytorialnego w ramach LGD. Obserwowane zjawiska, w tym szybkie utworzenie partnerstw na obszarze całego kraju i tendencje do dominacji sektora publicznego,
dyskutowane są w odniesieniu do podejścia racjonalnego wy
Recent developments in social media allow people to communicate and share information instantly and have led to speculation about the potential for increased citizen participation in decision making. However, as with other developments in ICT, social media is not used by everyone, and there is a danger of certain groups being excluded. Further, if social media tools are to be used by government institutions, there needs to be new internal processes put in place to ensure that the participation is meaningful. This chapter will critically evaluate and analyse the role of Web 2.0 tools (such as social networking services) for facilitating democratic participation, investigate and evaluate the development of Web 2.0 tools for eParticipation, and determine how they can be used to facilitate meaningful political participation.
This study considers the contributions and challenges of Amhara Development Association (ADA) to community development. Drawing up on the findings of a qualitative research approach, this article argues that despite government-oriented non-governmental organizations (GONGOs) contribute to community development, the development could not be effective and less recognized by the targeted community unless participatory. ADA has made some remarkable contributions for the community in its intervention areas of education and health though the community did not recognize the contributions and labeled it negatively. This is due to the challenges that ADA faced, which include political affiliation, lack of adequate and permanent employees, lack of community awareness, ADA affiliation to political organization of a nation, lack of finance, a top down approach of service delivery, and a lack of trust and accountability. Due to these challenges, ADA was less successful to bring real community development.
This study considers the challenges and contribution of Amhara Development Association (ADA) to the development of Enemay community, Ethiopia. Drawing up on the findings of a qualitative research study, this article argue that despite local civil society organizations contribute to community development, the development could not be effective and less recognized by the targeted community unless participatory. ADA has made some contributions for the community in its intervention areas of education and health though the community did not recognize the contributions. This is due to the challenges that faced ADA which include lack of adequate and permanent employees, lack of community awareness, ADA affiliation to political organization of a nation, lack of finance, top down approach of service delivery, and lack of trust and accountability. Due to these challenges, ADA was less successful to bring community development.
Recent developments in social media allow people to communicate and share information
instantly and have led to speculation about the potential for increased citizen participation in
decision making. However, as with other developments in ICT, social media is not used by
everyone, and there is a danger of certain groups being excluded. Further, if social media
tools are to be used by governmentinstitutions, there needs to be new internal processes put
in place to ensure that the participation is meaningful. This chapter will critically evaluate
and analyse the role of Web 2.0 tools (such as social networking services) for facilitating
democratic participation, investigate and evaluate the development of Web 2.0 tools for
eParticipation, and determine how they can be used to facilitate meaningful political
participation.
Before any research paper addressing sustainable development can help, their needs to be an examination of the various definitions that have been used. For this reason then, this article will discuss a few of the different definitions of Environmental Ecotourism Planning that are available before delineating the definition that most suits the discussion for this paper. In the present scenario, due to Environmental activities, environmental degradation is in an alarming rate and it results in various environmental issues. Science and advanced technology can however only help the process of global sustainable environment in a limited way but they cannot deliver it. The success of the technology lies in its implementation part.The communication perspective opens the door to other kinds of tools that environmental Ecotourism Planning can use in order to improve Sustainable Development. It stands to reason that there are many differences between the developing world and the developed world when it comes to issues of sustainability and sustainable community development. The physical environment, economy, and social make up of these two regions of the world are very different and therefore are subject to different problems, requiring individual methods of approach and research Ecotourism creates an impact on natural ecosystems but more importantly, it offers a way to promote conservation in ecologically fragile regions; benefit the economies of local communities; provide the public with a nature-based education experience. Sustainable development is an important aspect of ecotourism development that involves harvesting our natural resources without depleting or permanently harming them.
Today the terms sustainable development and sustainable innovation are often used. But what is meant by these terms, other than that they in some ways are connected to the terms ‘green’ and ‘ecological’ seen in a long-term perspective? How, in turn, are sustainable innovations developed? Studying the literature on the topic leads to the conclusion that there is no precise or established definition of sustainable innovation, sustainability and sustainable development.
A conclusion in the paper is that we now need to focus on how to develop new sustainable innovations, and for these, product development is the most important element. It has been found that Dynamic Product Development (DPD™) is a model that satisfies the different definitions on sustainability that have been proposed.
The result of a product development project is based on the product developer’s knowledge, experience and ability. The leadership of an entrepreneur (or intrapreneur) is also important for the level of sustainability of an innovation that is achieved. Therefore, the product developers and entrepreneurs need to be educated in a broader perspective than is common in the technical field today. The product developers must also be monitored in the actual work situation to ensure that new products that are not sustainable are not being marketed. This, in turn, calls for a similar, broader perspective in management education.
To describe what a sustainable innovation is and how it is developed, the following definitions are proposed: a sustainable solution is a solution that has been developed to be a long-lasting, environmentally responsible solution for the provider (the business), the society and also the users; an innovation is a new solution that has been ‘sold’ and is used by more than one user or that is used in at least one-use situation; the innovation process, done as an innovation project, contains all of the stages from idea generation, development (R&D) and commercialization to an implemented solution on the market.
The idea of an all-encompassing partnership has vindicated all sorts of collaboration models to be articulated as partnerships although not occurring as ones, leaving practitioners and politicians of regional development planning with suboptimal ways of collaborating. Reviewing the partnership literature depicts similar difficulties in delineating partnerships from other collaboration models causing diversified messages about partnerships. In an attempt to invigorate the partnership literature by delineating partnerships from other forms of collaboration and thus progress the work and output of regional planning and development, this paper defines a partnership to be a promise of a promise denoting other collaborative models such as network, cluster and governance-partnership as a promise only. Based on qualitative interviews, discursive analyses and strategic documents, the comparative case analysis of two Danish regional development agencies shows how one remained as a governance-partnership while the other turned into a partnership by continuously creating possibilities for the groups of actors involved. This transformation from a promise only into a promise of a promise displays how to delineate partnerships from other forms of collaboration such as networks, clusters and governance-partnerships.
Universities are being seen as key urban institutions by researchers and policy makers around the world. They are global players with significant local direct and indirect impacts - on employment, the built environment, business innovation and the wider society. The University and the City explores these impacts and in the process seeks to expose the extent to which universities are just in the city, or part of the city and actively contributing to its development. The precise expression of the emerging relationship between universities and cities is highly contingent on national and local circumstances. The book is therefore grounded in original research into the experience of the UK and selected English provincial cities, with a focus on the role of universities in addressing the challenges of environmental sustainability, health and cultural development. These case studies are set in the context of reviews of the international evidence on the links between universities and the urban economy, their role in 'place making' and in the local community. The book reveals the need to build a stronger bridge between policy and practice in the fields of urban development and higher education underpinned by sound theory if the full potential of universities as urban institutions is to be realised. Those working in the field of development therefore need to acquire a better understanding of universities and those in higher education of urban development. The insights from both sides contained in The University and the City provide a platform on which to build well founded university and city partnerships across the world.
This monograph [full in Polish language] presents the results of research on area-based partnerships (partnership groups) operating in rural areas in Poland until 2006. From the theoretical perspective, we refers primarily to the theory of exchange (including rational choice theory), which was developed e.g. in the social sciences and economy. The research objects were local, formal coalitions for local development, inspired by the Local Action Groups operating in Western Europe within the framework of the LEADER Community Initiatives. Referring to the literature, we proposed for these organizations the use of the term "territorial partnership", which means a formalized initiative of cross-sectoral cooperation for socio-economic development of given sub-region, based on the concept of endogenous development. Three main periods were distinguished in the development of territorial partnerships in Poland:
− the years 1994–1998 – in 1994 the establishment of the first over-municipal crosssectoral initiative was noted, but in general it was not followed by spontaneous creation of tri-partite organizations for local development, and in addition there was no systemic support for this type of cooperation. Possible cooperation could sometimes take place within the framework of the associations.
− the years 1999–2004 – during this period the partnerships were initiated mainly through pilot projects funded from foreign resources, most commonly re-distributed by large NGOs. Partner groups were modelled on the experience from Western Europe and the USA. There were no nationwide Polish government programmes to support organizations of that type. In that period, the local and regional NGOs played a major role in partnership creation. The undertaken projects did not have any large economic significance, but they were important for building trust between local actors involved and for popularization of the idea of cross-sectoral cooperation. About 20–30 initiatives of the "territorial partnership" type were established and at least a few dozen were at the stage of forming.
− the years 2005–2006 – during this period partnerships were commonly established under the LEADER+ Pilot Program (PPL+), which rules had a high impact on the legal and organizational form of partnerships. Owing to the programme, most of the partnerships in Poland prepared strategies and in years 2007–2008 implemented non-investment projects. The local authorities had a dominant role in the process of partnership forming in that period. In late 2006, there were over 200 such organizations, their area was mostly related to natural regions.
Local governments and voluntary organizations were most active in the investigated coalitions. Most of the partnerships had prepared a development strategy, but specific projects financed from sources other than PPL+ were implemented only by a dozen oldest organizations by 2006, mostly in the category of tourism promotion and development of small-scale tourist infrastructure. Financial and legal problems were found to be the main constraints in partnership development. Most of the partnerships had just began their activity and, with only a few positive exceptions, had not achieved significant effects by 2006, either in local economic development, or in the real mobilization of local communities. There were even cases of local authorities rejecting projects proposed by local inhabitants or trying to take control over the financial resources from PPL+.
The inhabitants knowledge about even the longest-operating partnerships was negligible in the three examined case studies (Odra Valley Partnership, Pilica Valley Partnership and Strug Valley Partnership). Difficulties arose in implementing the main ideas declared in the concept of cross-sectoral cooperation. Some of them resulted from the LEADER+ Pilot Program’s administrative constraints (for example, imposition of a legal form, the exclusion of even small urban municipalities, the exclusion of any investment projects in the scheme). Some of the limitations resulted from the problems with the development of civil society reported in the literature (such as the politicization of the local government, their conflicts with or aversion to NGOs, the lack of tradition of cooperation, the leader’s tendency to dominate partnerships, low social activity).
However, a formal network analysis of the three examined cases showed that partnerships had a great role in creating non-hierarchical, cross-sectoral links (such as coordination and co-operation), which was an important factor contributing to the creation of social capital in rural areas. Partnerships engaged in the promotion of tourism and the creation of so-called local products, which in the future may help to provide additional income to inhabitants of the villages. However, the participation of the private sector, and representatives of farmers was usually low, which was a weakness of the created organizations. In the case studies, differences between partnerships can be explained by the regional socio-cultural diversity. The analysis led to the author’s conclusion that additional measures are necessary to prevent the dominance of local authorities in partnerships, to increase social participation through the involvement of non-governmental and private sector, and to strengthen local voluntary organizations in rural areas. The results also justify the need for further comparative regional studies based on an analysis of the relationship between local actors involved in collaboration.
Local governments around the world pursue a range of activities to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, and promote locally generated renewable energy. Yet many underestimate the potential their locality possesses in becoming fully energy efficient and self‐sufficient, and in particular, tapping into the natural potential, which exists on rooftops, facades, underground, in streams, fields, and forests for locally generated renewable energy, harvested in a sustainable manner. This lack of awareness has effected the perception and motivation of local governments to pursue energy projects with more lasting environmental effects. This survey of international experts in energy, local governance, and urban planning reveals that most were of the opinion that existing structures within local government were capable of pursuing energy autonomy, provided that a thorough review of existing levels of knowledge, logistical arrangements, and financial capacities is carried out to determine whether they are indeed capable of fulfilling the necessary functions and to carry out the necessary activities. The establishment of energy development entities outside the established structure, that are also accountable to the local government, can only be considered once the aforementioned analyses show that adjustments within the existing organization would be difficult to achieve. This is an original review of international expert attitudes on local renewable energy autonomy, conducted in 2011 and 2012 among 77 local energy experts. WIREs Energy Environ 2015, 4:397–405. doi: 10.1002/wene.152
This article is categorized under: Energy and Climate > Economics and Policy
Energy Policy and Planning > Economics and Policy
Energy and Development > Economics and Policy
This article uses critical discourse analysis to analyse national level discourses of sustainable development in the UK through the 1990s and 2000s, as revealed in five documents produced by successive national governments during this period. After briefly reviewing the concept of sustainable development and its interpretations, national sustainable development discourses are analysed in the context of the wider political discourses that have arisen around the political ideologies of neo-liberalism, Thatcherism and New Labour. A critical discourse analysis, using the concept of ‘discursive techniques’, reveals the way in which the concept of sustainable development has been adapted to conform to the dominant political discourses of neo-liberalism, Thatcherism and New Labour. In this process, the term has been used to emphasize the compatibility of economic growth and environmental protection, and hence, arguably, has been used to avoid rather than to facilitate radical action. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
The widespread adoption of sustainability agendas in urban contexts has opened a now well-recognised 'policy space' linking sustainability principles with urban development and local politics. Central to these enquiries is a focus on the need to spatialise debates on sustainable urban development by examining the scales at which locally grounded tensions are resolved. Using a case study set in the City of Vancouver, Canada, this article shows how the adoption of one specific sustainability policy - food policy - was enabled by specific reframings of the scale at which it was assumed to be most appropriately situated, and shows how new strategies for co-ordinating governance at and between scales were deployed.
At a time when the majority of world’s population live in urban areas, the role of cities
in addressing food system vulnerabilities is vital. One response has been a renewed focus by local
governments in the global north on a host of individual food system issues. Still lacking are
comprehensive municipal food strategies that take a coordinated approach to the food system as
a whole. A municipal food strategy is an official plan or road map that helps city governments
integrate a full spectrum of urban food system issues within a single policy framework including
food production (typically referred to as urban agriculture (UA)), food processing, food
distribution, food access and food waste management. This exploratory article examines factors
that may affect the capacity of local governments in three global north cities to develop and
implement their respective food strategies. It goes on to ask whether food strategies may enable
UA, as the part of the food system that to date has garnered the most attention in both research
and practice.
The contention posed by Rod Rhodes that policy is made and delivered by autonomous and self-organising policy networks is at the heart of many contemporary debates about the nature of policy and politics. However, while the concept has commanded considerable attention from policy theorists, case studies of how policy networks operate on the ground remain relatively rare. Further still, much of the empirical work has centred on testing relatively abstract claims about the nature of networks rather than thinking through their practical implications for governance. Here, we contrast the approaches taken by two English local authorities in seeking more participatory approaches to environmental policy-making. Building on the work of Kickert et al., we argue that - far from being self-organising - the form of policy networks can be strongly directed by the state through network activation strategies and, indeed, that strong state management of networks is required if policy-making is to proceed in a more inclusive manner. Indeed, we argue that when policy-making is viewed from a network governance perspective the most effective routes to participatory policy-making may rely heavily on manipulation strategies despite the fact that these are frequently described as weaker (or lower) forms of participation. This apparent compromise of participatory objectives may be required to ensure effective policy development.
The green belt idea is being questioned as an effective way of managing the protection and development of urban fringe areas, and a new concept-green infrastructure (GI)-is being proposed as a better way to plan and manage these spaces. GI is claimed to allow for more sophisticated and dynamic understandings of such spaces and to enable the identification and quantification of formerly under-appreciated assets of the urban fringe, including newly identified economic benefits. The rapid evolution in England of regional and sub-regional 'soft governance' bodies that prioritize economic development provides fertile territory for the claims for GI to be promoted. We track the progress of the new discourse around GI in two northern regions in relation to emerging strategies for spatial and economic development planning. We conclude that the policy purchase of the greenbelt is being challenged by the 'upstart' GI policy and we explore some implications of the evolving policy transition.
This research aims to explore the processes of tourism planning and policies in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). For this purpose, a research model has been designed and tested for use in the case of BiH. The main backdrop to this model is based on a new, alternative tourism planning perspective (Tourism planning: a third way?) developed and designed for similar situations (Burns, 2004). The study proceeded by examining the institutions responsible for tourism development through the application of in-depth interviews, content analysis, personal communications, and observation. The findings of the study revealed that although the concept of tourism planning is well understood amongst decision-makers, it has, however, remained a theoretical precept rather than a practice which is implemented. The study has also revealed that the perception of tourism planning and development is devoid of new approaches in respect of the issues of sustainability and community involvement in the decision making process. Therefore, sustainability is not used as an integrated framework, and policies are made without including these two important dimensions, which are at the core of the Third Way model. According to the findings, the present situation can be attributed on the one hand to the political complexity of the economies in transition and, on the other, to the reluctance of the officials to commit themselves to a planning process which involves responsibilities and sacrifices.
This paper suggests that the discourse of sustainable development (SD) within the United Nations (UN) represents a paradigm shift from first/industrial modernity to a reflexive modernity. Reflexive modernity is defined by the changing nature of political structures in the face of globalised environmental risk, as well as a questioning of the hegemony of the scientific process as a basis for the development of humanity and the planet. SD is a concept that innately reflects these concerns, questioning normative assumptions. This paper will argue that the rise of SD in governance discourse is not only a catalyst for a reflexive modernity, but also is representative of a modernity that is already in a state of reflexivity. This proposition is examined by exploring the various ways that SD is utilised in the governance structure of the United Nations (UN).
The term sustainable development provides useful guidance on how economic development can be reconciled with protecting the natural environment and meeting social objectives. However, this rather tricky term is open to a number of interpretations ranging from strong/ecological to weak/technocratic. In the context of an old industrial region, evidence of movement towards strong sustainable development in four areas is discussed: radicalising democracy; promoting the local social economy; meeting basic needs; and encouraging biodiversity. The article explores why, in the light of sustained evidence of multiple social and environmental crises, these messages of strong, ecological sustainable development continue to be ignored and marginalized in formulating policy at the regional level.
In this paper, we examine how devolution has affected local sustainable development. We focus on attempting to gauge how devolution will affect the promotion of sustainable development in the English regions through an analysis of the changes to date in Scotland, Wales and London. This evaluation is made more difficult because of the range of changes which devolution involves - political, institutional, organizational and cultural, and it is hard to ascribe particular outcomes to particular changes. The focus of the paper is examining how local sustainability regimes have been affected by devolution in the three case study regions. We then conclude that devolution can only add value to existing arrangements if it creates an additional level of legitimacy which supports local coalitions deepening their commitment to the principles of local sustainable development.
Recent years have seen the appearance on urban agendas of social and environmental issues not conventionally understood as municipal concerns. Often framed as policy areas that promote sustainability, quality of life or social inclusion, these new arrivals are complex not only because they are often cross‐sectoral, but equally because there are few regulatory tools and resources to support their implementation. This trend has resulted in a growing body of research that asks what factors result in some social and environmental policies being adopted by municipalities, while others are not? And why in certain places and not others? Such research typically focuses on factors and processes that contribute to getting an issue on the official agenda of a municipality, but offers comparatively little by way of analysis of what happens next. This article addresses this gap by providing an in‐depth analysis of the early stages of implementation of an emerging urban issue, food policy, in the City of Vancouver, Canada. The article draws attention to the often overlooked spaces and contours of governmental institutions as sites of organizational learning and capacity building in support of sustainability. In this way, the analysis brings deeper understandings of a specific case of food policy implementation by a municipal government, while also advancing research on how similar cross‐cutting social and environmental issues are implemented by local governments elsewhere.
Résumé
Depuis peu, on voit apparaître dans les programmes urbains des aspects sociaux et environnementaux qui, traditionnellement, n'entraient pas dans les préoccupations municipales. Souvent formulés comme des domaines politiques défendant approche durable, qualité de vie ou inclusion social, ces nouveaux venus sont complexes, souvent parce qu'ils sont inter‐sectoriels, mais également parce qu'il existe peu d'outils et de ressources réglementaires pour faciliter leur mise en oeuvre. Il en a résulté une multiplication des recherches sur les facteurs qui permettent, ou non, l'adoption par les municipalités de certaines politiques sociales et environnementales? Et pourquoi dans certains lieux et pas ailleurs? En général, ces recherches s'attachent aux facteurs et processus qui contribuent à faire entrer une question dans le programme officiel d'une municipalité, mais apportent relativement peu quant à l'analyse de ce qui se produit ensuite. L'article traite cette lacune par une analyse approfondie des premiers stades de mise en oeuvre d'un thème urbain récent, la politique alimentaire, dans la ville canadienne de Vancouver. Il attire l'attention sur les espaces et profils souvent ignorés des institutions gouvernementales en tant que lieux d'apprentissage organisationnel et de construction de capacités permettant de favoriser la durabilité. Ce faisant, l'analyse permet de mieux appréhender un cas particulier d'application de politique alimentaire par les autorités municipales, tout en faisant progresser la recherche sur la façon dont, ailleurs, les gouvernements locaux traduisent concrètement des questions sociales et environnementales similaires couvrant plusieurs domaines.
We have reached a unique juncture in human ecological history, one requiring a radical reconfiguration of planning values and goals. The "ecological footprint" of the global economy is already larger than the planet, yet a quarter of humanity still lives in poverty, the human family is expanding by 90 million a year, and material demands everywhere are rising. An unlikely tenfold reduction in the energy and material intensity of economic activity would be required to accommodate anticipated economic growth safely, posing an enormous challenge to planners in facilitating the transition to sustainability. Failure enhances the considerable possibility of global disaster.
Drawing upon the work of Bourdieu, Foucault and Fairclough, this paper focuses on the discursive construction of partnership and empowerment in the official discourse of contemporary British urban regeneration. The paper argues that partnership and empowerment are not neutral terms but are discursive constructs, the meaning assigned to these terms is thus the result of the exercise of power, which in turn has a crucial role in structuring the discursive context within which urban regeneration partnerships operate. The paper's emphasis on official discourse constructs a top-down view of the regeneration process and the community's role in that process. These issues are investigated through a narrative which focuses on a key official document, Involving Communities in Urban and Rural Regeneration, providing guidance on community participation in urban regeneration partnerships. The paper concludes that the operation of these discursive constructs in urban regeneration reinforces existing social relations
Despite widespread recognition that human impacts are having a detrimental impact upon the environment and the incorporation of sustainable development into policy at a variety of spatial scales, the actual implementation of sustainability remains problematic. By contrast with the rather vague and all-encompassing concept of sustainable development, some authors have argued that ecological modernization is a much more rigorous approach which focuses upon reconciling the tensions between economic development and ecological crisis to form a new model of development for capitalist economies. As an approach it is specifically put forward as one which can provide both a theoretical and a practical guide to an appropriate response. In this paper the potential contribution of ecological modernization as both theory and guide to pragmatic action are explored by reference to the development of regional policy and regional development agencies (RDAs) in the English regions. It would appear that although the practical implications of ecological modernisation have been partially incorporated into regional policy, these have been progressively watered down in the move from policy formulation to implementation. Ecological modernisation may have more to offer as a theoretical approach where it allows us to think about these problems of policy implementation. The paper concludes with a critique of ecological modernisation as a perspective on the environmental problematic.
Published in 1989, Blueprint for a Green Economy presented, for the first time, practical policy measures for 'greening' modern economies and putting them on a path to sustainable development. This new book, written by two of the Blueprint for a Green Economy authors, revisits and updates its main messages by asking, first, what has been achieved in the past twenty years, and second, what more needs to be done to generate a truly 'green economy' in the twenty-first century?
A range of theorists note that the advent of the new institutions of local governance, like the Urban Development Corporations (UDCs) and the Training and Enterprise Councils, is indicative of a new closure of urban politics, a politics of exclusion, especially of local community groups. This paper considers the possibilities that the alleged political closures of exclusion propagated by the British UDCs may be challenged by locally dependent communities. The focus is the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC) whose spatial development programmes have been the site of political debate and contestation in the city. Over time, specific political closures of CBDC have been "opened up' to a wider, localised, constituency of interests, while some of their plans have been modified by a range of localised, contingent, political processes, such as the Cardiff Bay Business Forum (CBBF). While such processes have emerged to defend existing exchange values, critical to the reproduction of indigenous, local business, they are also, in part, illustrative of the power of localised social structures in the determination of urban political processes. -from Authors
Despite the growing importance of environmental issues within international and national economic policies, little attention has been paid to these issues in work on economic restructuring. However, the increasing adoption of the concept of sustainable development as a means to resolve conflict between the economy and the environment has major implications for the form and direction of economic restructuring. In this paper it is therefore argued that the growing adoption of sustainable development as a central guiding principle for economic development necessitates the incorporation of environmental issues into work on economic restructuring. The limited amount of existing work linking the environment with economic restructuring is criticized and it is suggested that there is considerable potential to use regulation theory to combine debates on economic restructuring and sustainable development.
Agenda 21 has come to be the most significant outcome of the Rio Summit for local government in the UK and Local Agenda 21 is emerging as the main driver for the development of local policies and programmes for sustainable development. In general, the work is being undertaken by those charged with the development of environmental policy in local authorities. Sustainability is seen as a natural extension of environmental policy work, and survey results presented confirm a gradual emergence of LA21 work from an environmental focus to a strategic approach to issues of environment, economic development, social welfare and accessibility. The level of awareness of LA21 and commitment to it in general terms appear high, but survey results suggest that the full implications of the agenda, particularly those relating to new approaches to partnership, participation and democracy, have not yet been addressed by all authorities. The author suggests that problems of corporatisation of LA21 and its relationship with traditional democratic structures remain to be tackled. The potential for the consensual approach in tackling issues of ‘hard sustainability’ is also discussed.
English
In a world portrayed as diverse and complex, in which power is diffused, governance can be achieved only by building on formal inter-sectoral partnerships. These must involve all stakeholders including those previously excluded from decision making and will therefore present new challenges. Urban regeneration provides a good testing ground for evaluating such partnerships in action and their capacity to act as vehicles for building a new local power base. This article considers the dilemmas that arise from the introduction of the voluntary sector in formal partnerships. It argues that, based on such experiences, much needs to be achieved if effective local regimes are to emerge.
The paper concerns the emergence of complex networks and public/private partnerships in EU regional economic development initiatives in the English West Midlands. The implications of the partnership model for the governance of the West Midlands are examined with reference to the role of the Government Office for the West Midlands and the involvement of Birmingham City Council in multi-agency policy initiatives. Despite their importance, the networking arrangements that exist do not signify the establishment of a democratically accountable regional government. What they do indicate is the partial re-engineering and rationalisation of the administrative process and the quest by central government to control policies concerning regional economic competitiveness
This paper addresses the incompatibilty that lies between the push toward urban sustainability on the one hand and economic competitiveness on the other, While one emphasizes participation and local democracy, the other depends upon privatisation and reduced citizen involvement in urban affairs, Using examples from the UK, it is clear that sustainability and the social concepts associated with it have important implications for an overhaul of current economic development strategies. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in sustainable development as a guiding principle to allow the integration of economic development and the environment within policy and strategy. At all levels of policymaking a major emphasis has been placed upon the local scale as the most appropriate for the delivery of such policies and initiatives, with a particular stress upon local authorities as the major delivery mechanism. Though it is often assumed that this integration is relatively unproblematic, this paper indicates that this is not the case. The paper draws upon research with urban local authorities in England and Wales, which reveals that there are varying interpretations of the environment within local authorities, reflecting environmental and economic development perspectives. In each case, however, these are effectively interpretations which tend towards the 'weak' end of a sustainability spectrum and it is suggested that such divergent interpretations of sustainability are hindering integrative activity and the potential for introducing 'strong' sustainability measures.
This article is based on recent transnational research on partnership-based initiatives to promote local development and regeneration and combat social exclusion in the EU. The increasing reliance on partnership as the basis for local policy initiatives is first situated in the context of contemporary debates about social exclusion. The main part of the article then draws on the literatures on local governance and urban regime theory to examine three issues critical to the impact of the 'new orthodoxy' of local partnership: the capacity of partnerships as interorganizational forms of local governance; their inclusiveness; and the extent of outcomes which can be attributed to partnership as a distinctive mode of local governance. On all three issues, the evidence points to the limited claims that can be made for most local partnerships as 'inclusion coalitions' capable of effectively tackling social exclusion, and suggests that structural features of the currently dominant version of partnership entrench a model of elite rather than inclusive governance. Local partnership is associated with weak rather than strong discourses of social exclusion and inclusion, and its significance lies as much as anything in the way in which the practice of partnership tends to foreclose the sphere of debate and action, excluding more radical options.
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