Zhang, F;
Chung, C;
Lu, T;
Wu, F;
(2022)
The role of the local government in China’s urban sustainability transition: A case study of Wuxi’s solar development.
Cities
, 117
, Article 103294. 10.1016/j.cities.2021.103294.
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Abstract
Recent studies on socio-technical transition have elaborated the multi-level perspective through a power-sensitive view of agency and a symmetrical approach to niche-regime relations. This paper adopts this modified framework of the multi-level perspective to unpack the mechanisms of urban sustainability transition in China. It develops two arguments through a case study of the role of the local government in solar development in Wuxi city. First, the evolving alignments between niche, regime and landscape processes of the socio-technical systems of Chinese cities are mediated by conflicts between local governments and their upper-level counterparts as they share power over urban development. Second, instead of being identified as either regime supporters or niche advocates, Chinese local governments are best described as embodying both roles in urban sustainability transition as they struggle to balance their economic and environmental objectives. These two arguments point to a need to examine sustainability transition in Chinese cities with attention to the leadership of the local government in aligning the actions of various actors in and beyond the city who can stabilise and disrupt existing socio-technical configurations.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The role of the local government in China’s urban sustainability transition: A case study of Wuxi’s solar development |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cities.2021.103294 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103294 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Urban sustainability transition, Multi-level perspective, AgencyNiche-regime relations, Place-based leadership, Solar development |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10129110 |
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