Download or read book Local Governments and Climate Change written by Maryke van Staden and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-04-05 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global warming is changing the world as we know it. Climate change can have catastrophic impacts in numerous cities across the world. It is time for us to react – quickly and effectively. The European Community (EC) has been leading the fight against climate change, making it one of its top priorities. We have introduced the most ambitious targets of their kind, known as the “20/20/20 by 2020” initiative within the “Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package.” As a result, European Member States have taken on a commitment to curb their CO emissions by at least 20% by 2020. 2 These targets are indeed commendable; however, they are only the start if we are to avoid the consequences of global warming. Whilst top level coordination from the European Institutions and Member State governments is vital, the role of mitigating and adapting to climate change at local level must not be forgotten. In fact, here cities, regions and their citizens play a significant a role. It is therefore vital they become directly involved in the climate change challenge. The European Commission therefore launched in 2008 a new initiative, the Covenant of Mayors, which brings together a network of European mayors in a voluntary effort to go beyond the European Union’s already ambitious targets. Half of our greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are created in and by cities.
Download or read book Local Government Reforms in Countries in Transition written by Frederick A. Lazin and published by Studies in Public Policy. This book was released on 2007 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local Government Reforms in Countries in Transition explores the impacts that the end of the Cold War and increased globalization have had on governments around the world. The decentralization of national governments has led to a greater role for local governments; public administration and democratic representation are the new arenas of local governments the world over. Focusing not only on countries from the former Soviet Union, but also on Israel, China, South Africa, and Egypt, the contributors to this volume present a truly global investigation of countries experiencing governmental transformation. Book jacket.
Download or read book Cities in Transition written by Nirmala Rao and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-01-07 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an up-to-date and topical treatment of how six major cities in Europe, North America and Asia are coping with the new demands on urban government. Population expansion, the migration of new peoples and disparities between cities and suburbs are longstanding features of the urban crisis. Today, city governments also face demands for popular participation and better public services while they struggle to position themselves in the new world economy. While each of the cities is located in its unique historical setting, the emphasis of the book is upon the common dilemmas raised by major planning problems and the search for more suitable approaches to governance and citizen involvement. A principal theme is the re-engineering of institutional structures designed to foster local responsiveness and popular participation. The discussion is set in the context of the globalizing forces that have impacted to different degrees, at different times, upon London, Tokyo, Toronto, Berlin, Hyderabad and Atlanta. Cities in Transition is a major and original addition to the comparative literature on urban governance.
Download or read book Renewables written by Michael Aklin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-03-23 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy. Wind and solar are the most dynamic components of the global power sector. How did this happen? After the 1973 oil crisis, the limitations of an energy system based on fossil fuels created an urgent need to experiment with alternatives, and some pioneering governments reaped political gains by investing heavily in alternative energy such as wind or solar power. Public policy enabled growth over time, and economies of scale brought down costs dramatically. In this book, Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen offer a comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy analysis. Aklin and Urpelainen argue that, because the fossil fuel energy system and political support for it are so entrenched, only an external shock—an abrupt rise in oil prices, or a nuclear power accident, for example—allows renewable energy to grow. They analyze the key factors that enable renewable energy to withstand political backlash, andt they draw on this analyisis to explain and predict the development of renewable energy in different countries over time. They examine the pioneering efforts in the United States, Germany, and Denmark after the 1973 oil crisis and other shocks; explain why the United States surrendered its leadership role in renewable energy; and trace the recent rapid growth of modern renewables in electricity generation, describing, among other things, the return of wind and solar to the United States. Finally, they apply the lessons of their analysis to contemporary energy policy issues.
Download or read book The Expanding Role of State and Local Governments in U S Foreign Affairs written by Earl H. Fry and published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.. This book was released on 1998 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earl Fry explores the forces behind the rise of state and local influence in foreign affairs.
Download or read book China s Local Public Finance in Transition written by Joyce Y. Man and published by Lincoln Inst of Land Policy. This book was released on 2011 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China's economy has developed rapidly since the economic reforms in 1978, but public finance reforms have proceeded more slowly. This book looks at three major policy options addressing the underlying imbalance between revenues and expenditures at the local level in China. This is a valuable resource for anyone interested in local fiscal issues in China.
Download or read book Urban Sustainability Transitions written by Niki Frantzeskaki and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-06-14 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s population is currently undergoing a significant transition towards urbanisation, with the UN expecting that 70% of people globally will live in cities by 2050. Urbanisation has multiple political, cultural, environmental and economic dimensions that profoundly influence social development and innovation. This fundamental long-term transformation will involve the realignment of urban society’s technologies and infrastructures, culture and lifestyles, as well as governance and institutional frameworks. Such structural systemic realignments can be referred to as urban sustainability transitions: fundamental and structural changes in urban systems through which persistent societal challenges are addressed, such as shifts towards urban farming, renewable decentralised energy systems, and social economies. This book provides new insights into how sustainability transitions unfold in different types of cities across the world and explores possible strategies for governing urban transitions, emphasising the co-evolution of material and institutional transformations in socio-technical and socio-ecological systems. With case studies of mega-cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, New York and Adelaide, medium-sized cities such as Copenhagen, Cape Town and Portland, and nonmetropolitan cities such as Freiburg, Ghent and Brighton, the book provides an opportunity to reflect upon the comparability and transferability of theoretical/conceptual constructs and governance approaches across geographical contexts. Urban Sustainability Transitions is key reading for students and scholars working in Environmental Sciences, Geography, Urban Studies, Urban Policy and Planning.
Download or read book Public Finance in China written by Jiwei Lou and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008-01-31 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1980, China's economy has been the envy of the world. Is annual growth rate of more than 9 percent during this period makes China today the world's fourth-largest economy. And this sustained growth has reduced the poverty rate from 60 percent of the population to less than 10 percent. However, such rapid growth has also increased inequalities in income and access to basic services and stressed natural resources. The government seeks to resolve these and other issues by creating a 'harmonious society' -- shifting priorities from the overriding pursuit of growth to more balanced economic and social development. This volume compiles analyses and insights from high-level Chinese policy makers and prominent international scholars that address the changes needed in public finance for success in the government's new endeavor. It examines such key policy issues as public finance and the changing role of the state; fiscal reform and revenue and expenditure assignments; intergovernmental relations and fiscal transfers; and financing and delivery of basic public goods such as compulsory education, innovation, public health, and social protection. And it offers concrete recommendations for immediate policy changes and for China's future reform agenda. Public Finance in China' is a must-read for specialists in public finance and for those seeking an understanding of the complex and daunting challenges China is facing.
Download or read book Accelerating the Transition to a 100 Renewable Energy Era written by Tanay Sıdkı Uyar and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-06-05 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses renewable energy systems and applications, and demonstrates how an accelerated transition to 100% renewable energy can be achieved. It examines the systems from a thermodynamic perspective, focusing on the irreversible aspects of the current energy system and highlighting the solutions developed to date. Presenting global research and developments, this book is intended for those working within the field of renewable energy research and policy who are interested in learning how they can contribute to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable resources.
Download or read book Fiscal Decentralization in Developing and Transition Economies written by Anwar Shah and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Inflation and Investment Controls in China written by Yasheng Huang and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-11-13 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A political-economic analysis of how China has been able to avoid hyperinflation while maintaining high annual growth rates.
Download or read book Intergovernmental Relations in Transition written by Carl W. Stenberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of intergovernmental relations has changed substantially over the past five decades. It maintains a critical and evolving role in the US federal system as well as in public policy and administration. Building upon the legacy of Deil S.Wright’s scholarship, this collection of essays by distinguished scholars, emerging thought leaders, and experienced practitioners chronicles and analyzes some of the tensions and pressures that have contributed to the current state of intergovernmental relations and management. Although rarely commanding media attention by name, intergovernmental relations is being elevated in the public discourse through policy issues dominating the headlines. Many of these intergovernmental issues are addressed in this book, including health insurance exchanges under the now-threatened Affordable Care Act, and the roles of the federal, state, and local governments in food safety, energy, and climate change.Contributors interpret and assess the impacts of these and other issues on the future directions of intergovernmental relations and management. This book will serve as an ideal text for courses on intergovernmental relations and federalism, and will be of interest to government practitioners and civic and nonprofit organization leaders involved in public policy and management.
Download or read book Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Governments written by Sadioglu, Ugur and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local government can be defined as a public entity acting as the sub-unit of a state or of a region, charged with the task of enforcing public policies. There have been many reforms of local government in recent years from the grassroots-led movement that took root in the 90’s to the overarching effects of globalization and decentralization. Local governments must adapt their practices in order to most effectively provide for their constituents. Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Government addresses the effects of recent reforms in the political-administrative system of local governments and politics as well as future outlooks. It reviews the challenges, innovations, and lessons from local governments while providing theoretical perspectives on methods for positive reform. This book is a critical reference source for policy makers, government organizations, professionals, and actors in both local and international politics.
Download or read book Reforming the City written by Ariane Liazos and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most American cities are now administered by appointed city managers and governed by councils chosen in nonpartisan, at-large elections. In the early twentieth century, many urban reformers claimed these structures would make city government more responsive to the popular will. But on the whole, the effects of these reforms have been to make citizens less likely to vote in local elections and local governments less representative of their constituents. How and why did this happen? Ariane Liazos examines the urban reform movement that swept through the country in the early twentieth century and its unintended consequences. Reformers hoped to make cities simultaneously more efficient and more democratic, broadening the scope of what local government should do for residents while also reconsidering how citizens should participate in their governance. However, they increasingly focused on efficiency, appealing to business groups and compromising to avoid controversial and divisive topics, including the voting rights of African Americans and women. Liazos weaves together wide-ranging nationwide analysis with in-depth case studies. She offers nuanced accounts of reform in five cities; details the activities of the National Municipal League, made up of prominent national reformers and political scientists; and analyzes quantitative data on changes in the structures of government in over three hundred cities. Reforming the City is an important study for American history and political development, with powerful insights into the relationships between scholarship and reform and between the structures of city government and urban democracy.
Download or read book Management Policies in Local Government Finance written by John R. Bartle and published by International City/County Management Association(ICMA). This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when the slow pace of economic recovery and continuing reductions in state and federal assistance underscore our need for strong leadership in financial management, this volume offers a deeper understanding of financial theory and practice for its own sake.
Download or read book Transition Strategies for Sustainable Community Systems written by Amar KJR Nayak and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-01-23 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents five critical dimensions on relationships, institutions, produc-tion, organisation, and governance from design and systems perspectives for thesystematic transition of unstable and vulnerable communities across the world tosustainable community systems.• The first section discusses features of relationships and processes to deepencooperation and trust within a community.• The second section examines institutions within and outside a district tofoster synergy across institutions within a district and to minimise negativeexternalities on local communities within a district.• The third section deals with food production systems that are nature-friendly, resilient, efficient and sustainable.• The fourth section discusses the design of producer organisations that cangraduate to become sustainable community enterprise systems.• The fifth section focuses on community governance that can facilitatedecentralised, participatory, transparent and democratic local governancesystems. This book• offers a fresh perspective on design thinking for optimising internal designconsistencies.• provides a systems perspective on building sustainable community systemsat the lowest governance unit in different countries, such as Ward/GramPanchayat/Panchayat Council/Gewong/Union Council/GN.• gives insights into design & systems perspectives towards buildingsustainable community systems within a district of any country across the/divworld.
Download or read book Governance in Transition written by Ján Buček and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-15 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at experience in government restructuring and devolution from a variety of national and international perspectives, both within the European Union and elsewhere, focusing on lessons learned and ways forward.Since the 1980s, there has been a global trend to give more power to local governments. Even in Korea and the United Kingdom, the most centralised countries in the OECD, local government powers have increased, with substantial economic benefits. Within the European Union, the principle of subsidiarity has enshrined the idea of devolution. New member states, particularly in central and eastern Europe, have significantly created new and self-sufficient local and regional governments. However, this process has been complicated. Devolution is not a panacea in its own right, and need not lead to economic growth. While it can encourage savings through collaboration, it can also lead to confused lines of authority and can complicate policy formation and implantation. Devolution can strain local budgets, forcing local governments to rely on their own sources of finance, rather than central government transfers. Suburbanisation, rural depopulation, the growth of some regions, and the decline of others have raised new problems, particularly related to inter-governmental cooperation among local governments and different levels of government. In many cases, an increased number of governments has increased administrative costs.
