Local climate policy debates and urban governance: A comparison of Baden-Württemberg and California cities

Keywords: urban governance, climate action, policy debates, comparative urbanism
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Cities are a key arena in confronting climate change. The concept of climate urbanism describes this emerging policy approach for which climate change has made mitigation and adaptation policies central to urban governance and life in cities (Castán Broto et al. 2020). While climate action has become an urban planning priority, climate urbanism does not bring about a uniform set of actions. Cities pursue different forms based on the narratives used to urge and justify adoption. To examine this variation, this research compares the climate action narratives shaping how climate urbanism is pursued in four cities: two in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and two in California, USA. We employ discourse network analysis (DNA) of the public debate recorded in city newspaper articles and transcripts of government meetings between January 2018 and June 2021, supplemented by semi-structured expert interviews, to characterize the networks of influential actors and their motivations for acting. We found shared narratives of urgency to act at the city-level among the four cities with city administrations as key actors. Scientific organizations were influential in only one city, while community organizations increased their influence over time. Adaptation, responding to climate change impacts, and facilitating energy transition were common motivators while cities differed in the extent to which transportation transition and environmental justice concerns dominated. Following Castán Broto et al’s (2020) topology of climate urbanism types, our results suggest that cities are primarily pursuing reactive climate urbanism with some support for transformative change emerging from civil society and environmental justice groups.