Sustainable Urban Management ─ European Experiences in Improving Urban Governance for a Sustainable Future

Drawing on a major European Union comparative research project on urban environmental governance and subsequent studies which then clarified and validated the lessons it raised, this book focusses on urban sustainability. First of all, it reflects on the urban environmental agenda of the European Union, which was meant to be intensified with the 2006 a€?Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environmenta€?. By examining the approach taken in this a€?Thematic Strategya€?, it explains why it did not have the impact envisioned by the European Commission. Secondly, and in response, it proposes a different approach to urban environmental governance, simply termed a€?Sustainable Urban Managementa€?. This approach contrasts with that promoted by the European Union, which is based on promoting common policy formats to different European cities and focusses primarily on traditional planning instruments. The approach put forward in this book is highly critical of many existing suggestions to install or promote generic and common planning or governance formats in diverse urban areas. It is also more encompassing, extending beyond traditional planning instruments, and embraces the need for cross-sectoral and cross-jurisdictional working, whilst including both civil and market parties in governing for sustainability. It is framed around seven elements that are considered central to delivering liveable and sustainable cities and towns: principles, politics, partnerships, processes, policies, plans and programmes. The book introduces and explains the structure of these seven elements before then discussing each of them in-depth in separate chapters, all of which illustrate the approach through a range of empirical case studies taken from the a€?Liveable Citiesa€? project and subsequent studies conducted by the authors, as well as using the input of more than 100 experts from urban areas all over Europe. As such, the book offers both practitioners and academics a practical approach to urban governance that is directly inspired by the diversity of governance practices in many European cities and countries. It concludes by setting out a broad range of inspirational guidelines, practical examples and innovative approaches and instruments that can be used to reflect on environmental governance in towns and cities. In doing so, the book explains and illustrates how urban governance can be improved so as to achieve a balance between improving and maintaining environmental quality now and in the future, whilst also pursuing urban economic and social development.