Transformative Local Governments: Addressing Social Urban Challenges by Bringing People and Politics Together

Jua Cilliers, Ana Maria Vargas Falla, Gareth Wall and Paula Barros
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Jua Cilliers: School of Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney, Australia / Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, South Africa
Ana Maria Vargas Falla: Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University, Sweden
Gareth Wall: School of Government, University of Birmingham, UK
Paula Barros: Departamento de Projetos, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil

Urban Planning, 2024, vol. 9

Abstract: As the tier of government closest to people, local government plays a key role in answering local needs and aspirations. However, local governments are often under-resourced, leaving them inadequately responsive to many of these critical local demands. Moreover, accountability to their citizens, which is the core of a well-functioning local democracy, is often lacking because the necessary formal laws and informal norms do not enable citizens to influence the decision-making process in a collaborative, creative, and evidence-based process that promotes collective learning. Through innovative case study analyses from around the world, the 12 contributions in this thematic issue delve into the multifaceted ways in which local governments can bridge the gap between people and politics, offering innovative perspectives on participatory governance, co-creation, and collaborative decision-making for inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. The cases showcase innovations and challenges in the urban environment, capturing different ways to bring people and politics together in an attempt to co-create solutions for a sustainable and resilient urban future. The insights provided by this plethora of cases provides lessons that can help revolutionise international, national, and local urban policy to empower local authorities and their local communities to address the increasingly urgent challenges faced by municipalities around the world, ensuring an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable future for the generations to come.

Keywords: accountability; inclusive cities; local democracy; local government; localisation; participatory democracy; sustainable development; urban transformation; vulnerable groups (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:urbpla:v9:y:2024:a:9344

DOI: 10.17645/up.9344

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