Sustainable Cities: Understanding the Role of Institutions, Politics and Environmental Governance Sara Hughes ASP Research Review National Center for Atmospheric Research March 7, 2012

Road Map I.The Policy System a)Governance, Institutions, and Politics II.Sustainable Cities a)Status and Trends b)Cities and Climate Planning III.Justice in Climate Planning: Delhi and Mexico City

Governance, Institutions, and Politics The Policy System

Environmental Governance “The set of regulatory processes, mechanisms and organizations through which political actors influence environmental actions and outcomes.” Lemos, Maria Carmen and Arun Agrawal “Environmental Governance,” Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 31:

Layer Cake Federalism (Old View) Marble Cake Federalism (New View) Environmental Governance

Institutions The rights, rules and procedures that structure behavior and decision making outcomes. They are what a society or community uses to make collectively binding decisions, implement these decisions, resolve disputes, and punish rule- breakers. Young, Oran The Institutional Dimensions of Environmental Change. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Rothstein, Bo “Political Institutions: An Overview” in A New Handbook of Political Science. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Institutions Voting rules in Congress Decision making procedures in international negotiations Public participation processes in city code revisions

Institutions and the Environment Resources need regulatory control or property rights Humans doomed to over-exploit

Variety of arrangements Complex, cooperative decision making behavior New suite of tools Institutions and the Environment Resources need regulatory control or property rights Humans doomed to over-exploit

Politics

Sustainable Cities An Increasingly Urban World

Sustainable Cities Cities are Sources of CO 2 Emissions

Sustainable Cities Cities are Sites of Impacts Expanded Urban Heat Islands Uncertainty in Water Supplies

Cities and Climate Planning Cities are Sources of Innovation and Policy Action

The tools and processes cities use to develop a strategy for managing their carbon emissions and adapting to the possible consequences of climate change Cities and Climate Planning

Cities in developing/industrializing countries are increasingly planning for climate change Cities and Climate Planning

Mexico City Pact: 208 cities representing 250 million people 197 cities (95%) are from developing/industrializing countries Cities and Climate Planning

Vulnerabilities are particularly acute – Extreme events – Exacerbating existing problems of poverty and environmental stress Critical that urban climate governance generates local and equitably distributed benefits Cities and Climate Planning

Sea Level Rise Rio de Janeiro Source: Reuters, 2009 Source: Andrea Ferraz Young, 2011 Flooding Mexico City

Vulnerabilities are particularly acute – Extreme events – Exacerbating existing problems of poverty and environmental stress Critical that urban climate governance generates local and equitably distributed benefits Cities and Climate Planning Source: Dr. Peter Kim Streatfield, ICDDR,B

Vulnerabilities are particularly acute – Extreme events – Exacerbating existing problems of poverty and environmental stress Critical that urban climate governance generates locally tangible and equitably distributed benefits Cities and Climate Planning

Vulnerabilities are particularly acute – Extreme events – Exacerbating existing problems of poverty and environmental stress Critical that urban climate governance generates locally tangible and equitably distributed benefits Major gap in urban climate governance research is the implications for equity and justice (Bulkeley 2010) Cities and Climate Planning

Developing Research Questions

1.What are the implications of urban climate planning for justice in the city? And 2.Do different governance conditions engage different mechanisms of justice/injustice in urban climate planning?

Developing Research Questions 1. Representation of Disadvantaged Groups in Planning (Process) 2. Priority Setting and Framing that Recognizes the Needs of Disadvantaged Groups (Outcomes) 3. Benefits and Their Distribution Enhance Freedoms and Capabilities of Disadvantaged Groups (Outcomes)

Developing Research Questions 1.What are the implications of urban climate planning for justice in the city? And 2.Do different governance conditions engage different mechanisms of justice/injustice in urban climate planning?

Governance Conditions Urban Climate Planning City Government and Policies

Governance Conditions Intergovernmental Organizations and International Negotiations National Policies State Policies Urban Climate Planning Private NGO Public City Government and Policies

Governance Conditions Intergovernmental Organizations and International Negotiations National Policies State Policies Urban Climate Planning Private NGO Public City Government and Policies

Governance Conditions Intergovernmental Organizations and International Negotiations National Policies State Policies Urban Climate Planning Private NGO Public City Government and Policies

Engaging Mechanisms Participation and Coalitions Priority Setting and Framing Distribution of Benefits Justice in Planning Outcomes

Engaging Mechanisms Political Economy of Urban Poverty Institutional Capacities Technocractic Governance Thick Injustice Mechanisms of Injustice Participation and Coalitions Priority Setting and Framing Distribution of Benefits Justice in Planning Outcomes

Engaging Mechanisms Political Economy of Urban Poverty Institutional Capacities Technocractic Governance Thick Injustice Mechanisms of Injustice Participation and Coalitions Priority Setting and Framing Distribution of Benefits Justice in Planning Outcomes

Institutions and Justice Mechanism of Injustice Importance in City-led Importance in State-led Technocratic Governance Institutional Capacities

Research Design: Evaluate climate planning in Delhi and Mexico City Institutions and Justice

1. Identify the affected and disadvantaged populations in each city 2. Evaluate whether and how these communities are included in participation and coalition building, priority setting and framing, and the distribution of benefits 3. Why were communities included or not? Climate Plans and Interviews Secondary DataInterviews

Institutions and Justice Improved understanding: 1.Theory: mechanisms of injustice and the intervening effect of institutions 2.Obstacles and opportunities for greater justice in top down and bottom up systems of urban climate planning 3.Relationship between where and how (climate) planning occurs and the benefits that are experienced.

Thank You