Governing sustainable cities: From coercion to persuasion to embracing diversity?

This lecture is now available online. Abstract Sustainable and resilient cities are typically seen as an important response to climate change. It is thus not surprising that “sustainable cities and communities” have a central position in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11—"Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”). But increasing urban sustainability...

Urban resilience conceptualisations and policies: A review of the literature

Not long ago, we published an extensive review of the academic literature on urban resilience conceptualisations and policies in Nature's open-access journal Palgrave Communications: Adriana Sanchez, Jeroen van der Heijden, and Paul Osmond (2018) “The City Politics of the Urban Age: A Literature Review of Urban Resilience Conceptualisations and Policies”, Palgrave Communications, 4(The Politics of an Urban Age collection),...

The journey of another CUP book – here’s a sample of a proposal for an edited volume

In 2016, I posted the book proposal and cover letter of my 2017 book with Cambridge University Press, Innovations in Urban Climate Governance: Voluntary Programs for Low-Carbon Buildings and Cities. Somewhat to my surprise, that one is by far the most read blog post I’ve published to date. I am currently in the process of rounding up...

C40 Membership in Amsterdam: Who benefits?

  City-networks such as ICLEI, the Covenant of Mayors, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group have rapidly gained traction in the international climate governance regime. Scholars, practitioners and policymakers often discuss these networks in highly positive terms. To somewhat exaggerate two decades of city-network research: City-networks are said to hold the potential to accelerate...

Beyond frontrunners in urban climate governance

This post will appear in January 2017 on the INOGOV blog (in slightly modified form).   Cities are generally considered to hold a unique position in climate change adaptation and mitigation. It is in cities where the majority of greenhouse gasses are produced, and it is in cities where climate change impacts will be experienced...

Untaming the Urban (2)

On 8 and 9 December, I’ll be posting from Untaming the Urban, a multi-disciplinary symposium on cross-species cohabitation in the built environment of cities, towns and suburbs (7th, 8th & 9th Dec 2016, Australian National University).   Complex compromises need to be made   Presenters: Linda Corkery, Paul Osmond, Natalie Pelleri & Sara Wilkinson (Urban Ecology Renewal – re-wilding...

Posts from Untaming the Urban

On 8 and 9 December, I'll be posting from Untaming the Urban, a multi-disciplinary symposium on cross-species cohabitation in the built environment of cities, towns and suburbs (7th, 8th & 9th Dec 2016, Australian National University).   Urban umwelts, living walls and foundations, and pets/pests Presentations by: Joyce Hwang (Untaming architectural typology); Ned Doddington (Urban umwelt: already...

The journey of my CUP book—here’s the sample book proposal I promised a long time ago

  In one of my earliest blogs, I promised to share the book proposal for the Cambridge University Press (CUP) book once it would be accepted. Well, I am finally there! Early July the editor of the special series it will appear in let me know that all the reviewers were happy with the final...

Between evidence and experiments-based regulation: hybrids and nudges

This is a transcript of my lecture at the "Best in Class Regulation: Meeting the Challenge" workshop, organised by RegNet: School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University, 8 August 2016.   Good afternoon everyone,   Experimental regulation and governance Experimental regulation and governance has made quick inroads in the development and implementation of...

Lost and found in translation

One of the most valuable things of research trips is that it makes me reflect on my earlier work. And it makes that have I to sharpen and polish the narrative about the key findings of that work.   In my previous blog post I have shared the presentation that I gave at the International...