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Power and Capacity in Urban Climate Governance

Germany and England Compared

by Peter Eckersley (Author)
©2018 Monographs XIV, 302 Pages

Summary

This book introduces an innovative theoretical framework to identify how different systems of government shape climate policymaking arrangements at the local level. It highlights how resource interdependencies and power relationships involving municipalities, higher tiers of government and other local actors shape urban governance in two case study cities: Newcastle upon Tyne, in England, and Gelsenkirchen, in Germany. By applying the framework to policymaking in three sectors (climate change strategy, planning and each council’s own corporate activities), the study shows how these relationships shape policy styles, objectives and outcomes at the local level. The book also reveals how urban policymaking arrangements in both Germany and England are evolving, as municipal governments seek to increase their capacity to address challenging policy problems whilst facing resource constraints.
This book was the runner-up in the 2017 Early Career Researcher Prize in German Studies, a collaboration between the Institute for German Studies at the University of Birmingham and Peter Lang.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author(s)/editor(s)
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • List of Figures
  • List of Tables
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • 1.1 Climate Change and Urban Governance
  • 1.2 Background and Context
  • 1.2.1 The Changing Role of the State in Developed Countries
  • 1.2.2 Climate Change and Urban Governance
  • 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Book
  • 1.4 Case Selection and Method
  • 1.4.1 Data Collection and Analysis
  • Chapter 2: Understanding Climate Policymaking at the Subnational Level
  • 2.1 Introduction
  • 2.2 Multi-Level Governance and its Shortcomings
  • 2.3 Organizational Capacity and the ‘Power To’ Achieve Policy Objectives
  • 2.4 Introduction to the Framework
  • 2.5 National Policy Styles
  • 2.6 Conclusions
  • Chapter 3: Local Governance in Germany and England: The Historical Context
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Local Governance up to 1900
  • 3.2.1 Local Governance in Germany up to 1900
  • 3.2.2 Local Governance in England up to 1900
  • 3.3 Local Governance Between 1900 and the Early 1970s
  • 3.3.1 Local Governance in Germany Between 1900 and the Early 1970s
  • 3.3.2 Local Governance in England Between 1900 and the Early 1970s
  • 3.4 Local Governance Since the Early 1970s
  • 3.4.1 Local Governance in Germany Since the Early 1970s
  • 3.4.2 Local Governance in England Since the Early 1970s
  • 3.5 Conclusions
  • Chapter 4: Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 4.1 Introduction
  • 4.2 Resource Interdependence and Climate Change Strategy
  • 4.2.1 Resource Interdependence and Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen
  • 4.2.2 Resource Interdependence and Climate Change Strategy in Newcastle
  • 4.3 Policy Styles and Climate Change Strategy
  • 4.3.1 Policy Styles and Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen
  • 4.3.2 Policy Styles and Climate Change Strategy in Newcastle
  • 4.4 Conclusions
  • Chapter 5: Planning Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.1.1 Background to Hans-Sachs-Haus and Heinrich-König-Platz
  • 5.1.2 Background to Science Central
  • 5.2 Resource Interdependence and Planning Policymaking
  • 5.2.1 Resource Interdependence and Planning Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen
  • 5.2.2 Resource Interdependence and Planning Policymaking in Newcastle
  • 5.3 Policy Styles and Planning
  • 5.3.1 Policy Styles and Planning in Gelsenkirchen
  • 5.3.2 Policy Styles and Planning Policy in Newcastle
  • 5.4 Conclusions
  • Chapter 6: Corporate Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 6.1 Introduction
  • 6.2 Resource Interdependence and Corporate Policymaking
  • 6.2.1 Resource Interdependence and Corporate Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen
  • 6.2.2 Resource Interdependence and Corporate Policymaking in Newcastle
  • 6.3 Policy Styles and Corporate Policy
  • 6.3.1 Policy Styles and Corporate Policies in Gelsenkirchen
  • 6.3.2 Policy Styles and Corporate Policies in Newcastle
  • 6.4 Conclusions
  • Chapter 7: Power and Capacity in Climate Policymaking
  • 7.1 Introduction
  • 7.2 Key Theoretical Findings
  • 7.3 The Historical Evolution of Local Governance in Germany and England
  • 7.4 Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 7.5 Planning Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 7.6 Corporate Policymaking in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle
  • 7.7 Summary of Empirical Findings
  • 7.8 Implications for Future Research
  • 7.8.1 Further Empirical Study
  • 7.8.2 Normative Considerations
  • Chapter 8: Conclusions
  • Epilogue
  • Appendix
  • Details of Fieldwork Interviews
  • Bibliography
  • Index

| vii →

Acknowledgements

I could not have written this book without the support of many other people and organizations. In particular, Anthony Zito at Newcastle University provided me with a great deal of guidance throughout the project, and I am especially grateful for his advice when preparing successful applications for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Deutsche Akademische Austausch Dienst (DAAD) funding. Derek Bell provided me with useful advice at various stages, as did several other colleagues within Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle, particularly Jocelyn Mawdsley. Oliver Treib at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster was very supportive and welcoming during my fieldwork visit in North Rhine-Westphalia, and I would also like to thank Rüdiger Wurzel at Hull University for his support and suggestions.

The Institute for German Studies at the University of Birmingham awarded my study the runner-up prize in its annual Early Career Researcher competition. I would like to thank them for giving me this award, and Julian Pänke at Birmingham (as well as an anonymous reviewer chosen by Peter Lang) for making some final suggestions to improve the manuscript. More recently, Charlie Burns at the University of Sheffield has been very helpful in giving me the time to finish the book since I started working for her in early 2017.

I am also extremely grateful to staff in the case study cities, who gave up their time to provide me with relevant information. Without their co-operation I would not have been able to gather the necessary data to conduct this study. In particular, Adrian McLoughlin at Newcastle City Council, and Armin Hardes at Gelsenkirchen Council, were extremely welcoming and very keen to help. On the publishing side, Laurel Plapp and Laura-Beth Shanahan at Peter Lang have helped to ensure that the publishing process proceeded smoothly.

My parents, John and Nancy, have provided a lot of encouragement, as have Alan and Ellen Reid, my parents-in-law. Nonetheless, I am most ← vii | viii → indebted to my immediate family, whose patience, understanding and support has never faltered. Abigail, you were aged just two when I started this project, and so I have probably been talking about this book for as long as you can remember. Here it is, finally. Lukas, you arrived part-way through the project, and (believe it or not) your frequent waking during the night gave me some valuable time to contemplate and develop my theoretical argument. However, my wife Susannah has been the greatest source of support, advice and encouragement for the duration of this project – I could not have completed it without her.

Thank you.

| ix →

Figures

Figure 2.1: Vertical and horizontal sub-dimensions of Types I and II multi-level governance arrangements.

Figure 2.2: Vertical power dependency relationships in Types I and II multi-level governance arrangements.

Figure 2.3: Horizontal power dependency relationships in Types I and II multi-level governance arrangements.

Figure 2.4: Vertical and horizontal sub-dimensions of German and English policy styles.

Figure 3.1: Vertical power dependency relationships for nineteenth-century local government in England and Prussia.

Figure 3.2: Horizontal power dependency relationships for nineteenth-century local government in England and Prussia.

Figure 3.3: Shifts in vertical power dependency relationships for local government in England and Germany, 1900–1970s.

Figure 3.4: Shifts in horizontal power dependency relationships for local government in England and Germany, 1900–1970s.

Figure 3.5: Shifts in vertical power dependency relationships for local government in England and Germany since the early 1970s.

Figure 3.6: Shifts in horizontal power dependency relationships for local government in England and Germany since the early 1970s.

Figure 4.1: Changes in the sub-dimensions of multi-level governance types as applied to climate change strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle. ← ix | x →

Figure 4.2: Vertical power dependency relationships for climate change strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 4.3: Horizontal power dependency relationships for climate change strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 4.4: The PV panels on Gelsenkirchen’s science park (photograph taken in July 2013).

Figure 4.5: Homes in the Solarsiedlung in the Bismarck suburb of Gelsenkirchen (photograph taken in July 2013).

Figure 4.6: Changes in the sub-dimensions of policy styles as applied to climate change strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 5.1: Picture of the Heinrich-König-Platz redevelopment project in July 2013. Hans-Sachs-Haus is in the background (partly obscured by the tree).

Figure 5.2: Hans-Sachs-Haus shortly before it was reopened (photograph taken in July 2013).

Figure 5.3: The Core Building, Science Central (photograph taken in October 2017).

Figure 5.4: Changes in the sub-dimensions of multi-level governance types as applied to planning policy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 5.5: Vertical power dependency relationships for planning policy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 5.6: Horizontal power dependency relationships for planning policy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 5.7: The ‘blue box’ to engage with stakeholders about the Ebertstraße redevelopment project (photograph taken in July 2013).

Figure 5.8: Photovoltaic panels on the roof of Hans-Sachs-Haus (photograph taken in July 2013).

Figure 5.9: The ‘living wall’ on the side of the Core Building (photograph taken in October 2017). ← x | xi →

Figure 5.10: Changes in the sub-dimensions of policy styles as applied to planning in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 6.1: Changes in the sub-dimensions of multi-level governance types as applied to corporate policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 6.2: Vertical power dependency relationships for corporate policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 6.3: Horizontal power dependency relationships for corporate policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 6.4: Changes in the sub-dimensions of policy styles as applied to corporate policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle.

Figure 7.1: How vertical power dependencies might influence horizontal relationships and policy choice (taken from Eckersley 2017a).

| xiii →

Tables

Table 2.1: Type I and Type II Multi-Level Governance (Based on Hooghe and Marks (2003))

Table 3.1: The Percentage of the Population in Prussia and England and Wales who Lived in Cities of Over 100,000 Inhabitants, 1800–1911 (Adapted from Gildea 1987)

Table 3.2: Contrasting Characteristics in Nineteenth-Century English and Prussian Local Government

Table 4.1: Dimensions and Sub-Dimensions of ‘Ideal Type’ Multi-Level Governance and Policy Styles in Germany and England

Table 4.2: Contrasting Multi-Level Governance Structures for Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle

Table 4.3: Contrasting Policy Styles for Climate Change Strategy in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle

Table 5.1: Contrasting Multi-Level Governance Structures for Planning in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle

Table 5.2: Contrasting Policy Styles for Planning in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle

Table 6.1: Contrasting Multi-Level Governance Structures for Corporate Policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle

Table 6.2: Contrasting Policy Styles for Corporate Policies in Gelsenkirchen and Newcastle ← xiii | xiv →

Table 7.1: Characterizations of Multi-Level Governance and Policy Styles in the Case Study Municipalities

Table 7.2: Power Dependencies and Policy Styles in the Case Study Municipalities

| 1 →

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Details

Pages
XIV, 302
Publication Year
2018
ISBN (PDF)
9781787079526
ISBN (ePUB)
9781787079533
ISBN (MOBI)
9781787079540
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781787079519
DOI
10.3726/b11754
Language
English
Publication date
2018 (October)
Keywords
multi-level governance comparative politics climate change
Published
Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, New York, Wien, 2018. XIV, 302 pp., 8fig. col., 12 tables, 23 graphs

Biographical notes

Peter Eckersley (Author)

Peter Eckersley is a Senior Research Fellow at Nottingham Trent University, with interests in public policy, multi-level governance, sustainability, austerity and public accountability. He is also the Reviews Editor of Local Government Studies. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Newcastle University in the UK and has studied and undertaken research visits at the Universities of Leipzig, Münster and Potsdam in Germany. Since completing his doctorate he has worked as a Research Associate at Newcastle University, the University of York and the University of Sheffield and has published in a range of political science, public administration, geography, management and accounting journals.

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Title: Power and Capacity in Urban Climate Governance