| 1. |
- Busch, Henner, et al.
(författare)
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Uncovering Local Impacts – The Influence of Transnational Municipal Climate Networks on Urban Climate Governance
- 2016
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Ingår i: 2016 Berlin conference on global environmental change: transformative global climate governance "aprés Paris", Berlin 23-24 May 2016. ; , s. 1-20
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, many cities have joined transnational municipal climate networks (TMCNs), which were set up in response to climate change. Despite the fact that some of these TMCNs have been active for more than two decades, there has been no systematic investigation of the networks’ impact on local climate governance. In this article we attempt to answer if and how local climate governance has been influenced by municipalities’ memberships in TMCNs. Our assessment is based on an online survey conducted with staff from all German cities above 50,000 inhabitants with membership in TMCNs, fieldwork and interviews in seven German cities. Network membership mainly influences local climate governance through the following processes: (1) Enabling internal mobilisation (2) Formulating emission reduction goals (3) Creating political-administrative lock-in (4) Enabling direct exchange and (5) Offering project support. Our data suggests that the main influences of TMCN membership unfold in internal political processes in the member cities. External interactions, such as between cities or between network staff and cities is comparably less important. We also found that many of these benefits can be associated with laggards rather than pioneering cities. We conclude that TMCNs have considerable influence on local climate governance in Germany.
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| 2. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-
(författare)
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Accelerating local transitions to sustainable mobility
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The paper addresses the challenge of developing policies and incentives to achieve sustainable mobility in urban areas. Urban transport systems must undergo a profound transition in order to contribute to sustainable urban development and improve quality of life for residents and other users of urban spaces. There is substantial knowledge about the range of policy options available to decision-makers, planners and other stakeholders, yet past research has focused less on the practical organisation and implementation of policies aiming for sustainable mobility. Although many municipalities have adopted policies that promote sustainable mobility, organisational hinders and other behavioural practices have obstructed progress towards goals. Transport planning remains highly normative, prioritising the use of cars, yet some European municipalities achieve much higher modal splits for walking, cycling and public transport than many others. Basel, Göttingen and Odense are examples of three cities with strong performance: attractive, competitive cities in which the modal split for cars is low and other forms of mobility thrive. How are these cities succeeding and what can other municipalities learn from their examples? What organisational processes, methods, activities and innovations have influenced their strong performance?
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| 3. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-
(författare)
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Contesting sustainability in urban transport – perspectives from a Swedish town
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper presents findings from the study of a Swedish municipality, Norrköping. The empirical focus of the study is on the role of transport in municipal planning and transport’s potential contribution to urban sustainability in the municipality. The case study highlights a problem familiar to many municipalities – a transport sector largely dependent on fossil fuelled private vehicles generates significant impacts on the climate and environment, along with other economic and social costs. However, despite awareness of these negative impacts, it is difficult to generate consensus and implement measures to reduce use of private vehicles and enable transition towards a sustainable transport sector.In Sweden, municipalities have exclusive planning monopolies and an extensive range of other powers. Despite this, many Swedish municipalities are struggling to reduce car dependency and enable sustainable mobility. This paper uses perspectives from different disciplines to explore why, presenting results from a document study, survey, workshops and scenarios. The paper questions the extent to which the municipality and its governance processes are capable of contributing toward sustainable development, both locally and globally, in the absence of radical measures to promote sustainable urban development.In particular, the paper addresses a challenging question: why, despite having adopted objectives to promote sustainable mobility, does the municipality fail to implement measures enabling sustainable mobility? Why is there a difference between words and actions? Moreover, the study identifies comparable municipalities in other European countries with substantially higher performance in sustainable mobility than Norrköping, and considers, what would happen if Norrköping adopted similar targets and policies?This presentation seeks to inform an international audience about the contested nature of transportation in Swedish urban sustainability debates, and seeks input to help develop the paper and future research on this theme.
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| 4. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Contesting sustainability in urban transport — perspectives from a Swedish town
- 2015
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Ingår i: Natural resources forum (Print). - : Wiley. - 0165-0203 .- 1477-8947. ; 39:1, s. 15-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents findings from a document study, survey, and workshops held in a Swedish municipality. The empirical focus of the study is on the role of transport in municipal planning and transport's potential contribution to urban sustainability in the municipality. The case study highlights a problem familiar to many municipalities — a transport sector largely dependent on fossil fuel private vehicles that generates significant impacts on the climate and environment, along with other economic and social costs. However, despite awareness of these negative impacts, it is difficult to implement measures to reduce the use of private vehicles and enable a transition towards a sustainable transport sector. In Sweden, municipalities have exclusive planning monopolies and an extensive range of other powers. Despite this, many municipalities are struggling to reduce car dependency and enable sustainable mobility. This paper questions the extent to which the municipality and its governance processes are capable of contributing toward sustainable development, both locally and globally, in the absence of radical measures. In particular, the paper considers why, despite having adopted objectives to promote sustainable mobility, does the municipality struggle with the implementation of measures to enable sustainable mobility? Why is there a difference between words and actions?
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| 5. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Den attraktiva regionen: kommunens roll i nationella infrastruktur satsningar
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genom fallstudien av BanaVäg Motala-Mjölby undersöker detta paper hur kommunerna och lokala verksamheter genom planeringsinsatser, initiativ och samarbeten stärker effekterna och nyttan av tillgång till förstärkt fysisk infrastruktur för persontransporter. Studien avgränsas geografiskt till Motala och Mjölby centralorter, till Skänninge tätort, och till att belysa de lokalsamhälleliga effekterna.
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| 6. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-
(författare)
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Five factors for urban sustainability - exploring influences on municipal strategic planning
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent decades, there has been increasing consensus that sustainable urban development is critical to the future of human societies and planetary systems. The effects of population growth and the environmental impacts of human activities are evident around the world, observable not only in the rapid urbanisation of many large cities, but also in small-medium conurbations, rural communities, and even uninhabited areas. For this reason, sustainable urban development is the theme of this licentiate thesis.The thesis focuses on the role of municipal organisations, the ways in which processes to develop strategies and policies addressing urban sustainability are organised, and how other stakeholders participate in such processes. The thesis concludes by presenting a new conceptual framework that aims to inform such strategic processes - the “five factors” influencing strategic planning processes for urban sustainability in municipalities.The five factors concern the capacity of municipalities and others to act for urban sustainability; their mandate to do so; the resources available to them; the scope of their processes and intended outcomes; and their will, individually and collectively, to pursue urban sustainability. The “five factors” concept may aid future analysis of urban sustainability processes, both in planning and implementation. The “five factors” are based upon the findings of the three appended papers and the synthesis of their results in this thesis.The first and second papers present studies of energy and climate strategy planning processes in Swedish municipalities active in a national programme, the Sustainable Municipality (Uthållig kommun). Paper 1 focuses upon the organisation of processes to develop energy and climate strategies, whereas Paper 2 reflects upon the experiences of participating stakeholders in such processes. The two papers build upon existing theoretical frameworks and present empirical data from case studies of five municipalities, based on document studies, interviews and comparative analysis, in order to make conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of variations in the form and composition of energy and climate planning (e.g. that early involvement of stakeholders results in more comprehensive strategies).In contrast, Paper 3 presents analysis of a multidisciplinary sample of academic journal articles addressing “urban sustainability” and published during the period 2011-2012. As such, this paper focuses on how urban sustainability is practiced, observed and represented in academic literature, and considers different issues that arise as a consequence (e.g. a lack of analysis of urban sustainability governance processes in municipalities). Whereas Papers 1 and 2 observe practice, making insights with reference to specific theoretical perspectives, Paper 3 provides overview and identifies wider challenges and opportunities for research on the theme of urban sustainability. Together, the three papers highlight a number of issues that influence the development of municipalities’ strategic work for urban sustainability – the five factors.
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| 7. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-
(författare)
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Identifying the "Usual Suspects" : assessing patterns of representation in ICLEI case study collections
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Case study narratives act as a functional and attractive tool for awareness-raising, exchange of ideas and capacity-building. However, recent literature has highlighted problems with the ways that case studies present concepts or information. Various authors note an imbalance in the presentation of "developed" and "developing" world narratives in academic literature, leading to over-representation of cases from Europe and North America. Recent work suggests that the increasing volume of case studies in academic literature on urban sustainability may contribute to an over-representation of certain kinds of municipalities – e.g. cities of a certain size or in certain locations – at the expense of others.This paper shows that this trend is observed not only in academic literature, but also in practical settings, e.g. the preponderance and domination of certain cities within international municipal associations. The paper studies the continents, countries, municipalities and themes represented in six collections of case studies published by an international municipal association. The paper will assess the possible ways in which the case study collections, by representing certain types of activities in particular locations, influence the framing of the practice and study of sustainable development in municipalities. By doing so, the paper aims to contribute to literature on comparative urbanism, urban governance, knowledge production, municipalities, sustainable development, and international organisations.
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| 8. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Stakeholder participation in municipal energy and climate planning – experiences from Sweden
- 2016
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Ingår i: Local Environment. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1354-9839 .- 1469-6711. ; 21:3, s. 272-289
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article analyses the factors influencing stakeholder participation in municipal energy and climate planning, together with stakeholder experiences of participation in such processes. The article presents findings from a survey of 60 Swedish municipalities and detailed case studies of energy and climate planning in five Swedish municipalities to explore which stakeholders are involved, how and why they are involved, and the impacts of participation on both stakeholder experiences. The results of this study provide insight into the role of stakeholders in municipal energy and climate planning.The study proceeds as follows: the Introduction is followed by a discussion of theoretical perspectives on stakeholder participation and energy and climate planning. The Methods used to conduct the study are presented, followed by Results and Analysis. In the subsequent Discussion, the authors propose a conceptual approach that may assist municipalities in development of energy and climate strategies. The Analysis and Discussion inform Conclusions in which the authors advocate early and active stakeholder engagement in energy and climate strategy planning and emphasise the possible utility of their conceptual approach in supporting stakeholder participation.
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| 9. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable Energy and Climate Strategies : lessons from planning processes in five municipalities
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Swedish municipalities have traditionally had significant powers and played a major role in implementing national energy strategies. This paper describes the factors influencing development of municipal climate and energy plans in five Swedish municipalities and assesses the relevance and importance of these factors from theoretical and practical perspectives. The questions raised in the paper are: what are the characteristics of municipal climate and energy planning processes in the five Swedish municipalities, how do municipalities include stakeholders in the process, and in what ways do stakeholders influence outcomes? Results suggest that a number of key factors influence the development of municipal climate and energy strategies and their content. These include the importance of a clear, shared vision and engaged politicians; the size and organisational structure of the municipality and its willingness and capability to act; the organisation of the process and extent to which stakeholders have been involved and feel included; the need for clarity about financial aspects, such as planned financing of implementation; the need for greater clarity concerning selection of targets and their relevance to global climate and energy trends. By illustrating the characteristics of the municipal climate and energy planning processes in five Swedish municipalities, the study makes a contribution to the research on local governments and sustainable development in general, and specifically to the growing literature on municipal climate and energy planning. The study and its results may be used to inform policy-makers on the national and local levels about the factors influencing municipal energy planning and the importance of involving stakeholders and citizens in the strategic work to reduce climate impacts and energy consumption.
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| 10. |
- Fenton, Paul David, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable Energy and Climate Strategies : lessons from planning processes in five municipalities
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The presentation describes the factors influencing development of municipal climate and energy plans in five Swedish municipalities and assesses the relevance and importance of these factors from theoretical and practical perspectives. This will help answers the research questions: what are the characteristics of municipal climate and energy planning processes in the five Swedish municipalities; and, what lessons can be learnt from these cases which may be applicable to other municipalities in Sweden, the EU and other countries?
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