Capacity to Sustain Sustainability: A Study of U.S. Cities

Why do some governments implement more sustainability practices than others? Based on a national survey of U.S. cities, this article finds moderate levels of sustainability efforts and capacity in U.S. cities; about one-third of the sustainability practices identified in this article have been implemented. The authors conclude that, first, capacity building is a useful conceptual focus for understanding sustainability implementation in U.S. cities. Capacity building involves developing technical and financial support and increasing managerial execution. Second, sustainability is strongly associated with managerial capacity, which includes establishing sustainability goals, incorporating goals in operations, and developing a supportive infrastructure. Third, getting stakeholders involved furthers the capacity for sustaining sustainability efforts. Citizen involvement is strongly associated with securing financial support for sustainability.

[1]  Rachel M. Krause.  Political Decision-making and the Local Provision of Public Goods: The Case of Municipal Climate Protection in the US , 2012 .

[2]  E. Sharp,et al.  Understanding Local Adoption and Implementation of Climate Change Mitigation Policy , 2011 .

[3]  Philip Berke,et al.  What Makes a Good Sustainable Development Plan? An Analysis of Factors That Influence Principles of Sustainable Development , 2004 .

[4]  R. Paterson,et al.  Local Government Efforts to Promote the “Three Es” of Sustainable Development , 2008 .

[5]  Jeffrey M. Berry,et al.  Participation and the Pursuit of Sustainability in U.S. Cities , 2010 .

[6]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  The Structure of "Unstructured" Decision Processes , 1976 .

[7]  Evan M. Berman,et al.  Performance Measurement in U.S. Counties: Capacity for Reform , 2000 .

[8]  Matthew E. Kahn.  Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment , 2006 .

[9]  B. Dollery,et al.  The Local Capacity, Local Community and Local Governance Dimensions of Sustainability in Australian Local Government , 1970 .

[10]  James F. Wilson.  Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It , 1990 .

[11]  John Stuart Mill,et al.  A CAPACITY-BUILDING FRAMEWORK: A SEARCH FOR CONCEPT AND PURPOSE , 1981 .

[12]  M. Lubell,et al.  Local Institutions and the Politics of Urban Growth , 2009 .

[13]  Richard C. Feiock,et al.  Politics, institutions and entrepreneurship: city decisions leading to inventoried GHG emissions , 2011 .

[14]  P. Sabatier,et al.  Collaborative Watershed Partnerships in the Epoch of Sustainability , 2009 .

[15]  Lenahan L. O'Connell,et al.  The Impact of Local Supporters on Smart Growth Policy Adoption , 2009 .

[16]  Michele M. Betsill,et al.  Cities and the Multilevel Governance of Global Climate Change , 2006, Understanding Global Cooperation.

[17]  Fred Carden,et al.  Evaluating capacity development : experiences from research and development organizations around the world , 2003 .

[18]  Daniel J. Fiorino.  Sustainability as a Conceptual Focus for Public Administration , 2010 .

[19]  A. Nelson.  TOWARD A NEW METROPOLIS: THE OPPORTUNITY TO REBUILD AMERICA , 2004 .

[20]  Andrew B. Whitford.  Competing Explanations for Bureaucratic Preferences , 2007 .

[21]  Knowlton W. Johnson,et al.  Building capacity and sustainable prevention innovations: a sustainability planning model , 2004 .

[22]  H. Rainey.  Understanding and Managing Public Organizations , 1991 .

[23]  L. Salamon,et al.  The tools of government : a guide to the new governance , 2002 .

[24]  H. Weidner,et al.  Capacity building in national environmental policy : a comparative study of 17 countries , 2002 .

[25]  Kent E. Portney,et al.  Civic Engagement and Sustainable Cities in the United States , 2005 .

[26]  Rebecca C. Retzlaff Aicp.  Green Building Assessment Systems: A Framework and Comparison for Planners , 2008 .

[27]  Edward J. Jepson.  The Adoption of Sustainable Development Policies and Techniques in U.S. Cities , 2004 .

[28]  W. Richard Scott.  Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems , 1981 .

[29]  Rachel M. Krause.  Policy Innovation, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Adoption of Climate Protection Initiatives by U.S. Cities , 2011 .

[30]  P. Ingraham,et al.  Government Performance: Why Management Matters , 2003 .

[31]  Devashree Saha.  Factors Influencing Local Government Sustainability Efforts , 2009 .

[32]  Lilliard E. Richardson,et al.  Environmental Policy Attitudes: Issues, Geographical Scale, and Political Trust , 2008 .

[33]  Daniel A. Mazmanian,et al.  Toward Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy , 2001 .

[34]  Kent Portney.  Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously: Economic Development, the Environment, and Quality of Life in American Cities , 2003 .

[35]  M. Lubell,et al.  Political Institutions and Conservation by Local Governments , 2005 .

[36]  António F. Tavares,et al.  Policy Instrument Choices for Growth Management and Land Use Regulation , 2008 .

[37]  W. Adams.  The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century , 2006 .

[38]  Martin Jänicke.  The Political System’s Capacity for Environmental Policy , 1997 .

[39]  L. Bingham,et al.  The New Governance: Practices and Processes for Stakeholder and Citizen Participation in the Work of Government , 2005 .

[40]  Susan L Handy,et al.  City Adoption of Environmentally Sustainable Policies in California's Central Valley , 2009 .

[41]  Robert N. Stern,et al.  The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective. , 1979 .