Integrating Global Environmental Concerns into Urban Management: The Scale and Readiness Arguments

Xuemei Bai

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2007, vol. 11, issue 2, 15-29

Abstract: Due to the growing numbers of cities and urban residents, cities have increasingly contributed to global environmental issues. Many studies have pointed out that the city administrative level is a crucial level at which to address global issues. Nevertheless, integrating global concerns into local management remains a difficult task for the majority of cities. Building on existing theoretical and empirical studies, this article explores the obstacles that impede cities from addressing global environmental concerns, the opportunities for removing the obstacles, and strategies for bringing global issues onto the local level. Many of the obstacles are reflections of contradictory perceptions, concerns, interests, and priorities, which are presented in the form of two arguments, namely the scale argument and the readiness argument, in this article. The close linkages between global and local environmental issues and the potential economic benefits arising from addressing global concerns at the local level may provide opportunities and incentives for cities to take action earlier. The author further argues that although empirical studies in developed cities suggest that the most effective way to get municipal governments to address global concerns is by not talking about the “global,” an overly localized policy might not always result in a net gain in a developing city setting.

Date: 2007
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1162/jie.2007.1202

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:inecol:v:11:y:2007:i:2:p:15-29

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=1088-1980

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Industrial Ecology is currently edited by Reid Lifset

More articles in Journal of Industrial Ecology from Yale University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().