Sustainable development using urban governance instruments

Baerenbrinker, Verena (2011) Sustainable development using urban governance instruments. LL.M(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Printed Thesis Information: https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b2911556

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between sustainable development and urban governance and the implementation of sustainable development with urban governance instruments in spatial planning and planning law in the United Kingdom and in Germany.

The enquiry focuses on social segregation as a challenge for urban development. It is argued that segregation is not a new phenomenon, but a problem that has aggravated over the last years. Segregation and the lack of social cohesion lead to socially perforated cities which suffer from inequalitites between their different neighbourhoods. This leads to the question of effective urban planning process control: Which legal instruments should be used to tackle the problematic implications of urban development, including the segregation and exclusion of whole urban districts? New governance approaches combine area-based policies with an integrated urban development policy.

The thesis shows that the most important condition for effective legal process control of urban development however is a guideline for desirable results. It focuses on the concept of sustainable urban development as the guiding principle for contemporary urban development. It is argued that sustainable development focusses on the three pillars of an equal relation between the protection of the environment and a just society by means of a social economic development and good governance. It is also stated that the problem of the concept of sustainable development on the international level, the European level, and on the national levels is that it often lacks mandatory obligations on policy and decision makers with really meaningful consequences.

The biggest challenge for sustainable development in the next years will be its operationalisation. An effective implementation of the approach requires a translation of its objectives into specific actions for specific places. Therefore the thesis reviews urban governance as a useful approach to sustainable development. It is shown that the implementation of governance networks can increase both effectiveness by means of problem-solving capacity and the legitimacy of governance in terms of democratic participation and accountability.

The relationship between sustainable development and urban governance is illustrated with the examples of the New Deal for Communities programme in the UK and the Social City Programme in Germany. Both instruments supplant traditional top down-polity models with governance instruments when it comes to the implementation of sustainable development in deprived areas.

Item Type: Thesis (LL.M(R))
Qualification Level: Masters
Keywords: social exclusion, segregation, school segregation, sustainable development, Brundtland report, Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, Earth Summit, Leipzig Charter, Territorial Agenda of the European Union (TAEU), European Spatial Planning, urban governance, democratic legitimacy of network structures, Single Regeneration Budget, New deal for communities, The Social City
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
K Law > KZ Law of Nations
Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
Supervisor's Name: Tams, Prof. Christian J.
Date of Award: 2011
Depositing User: Dr Verena Baerenbrinker
Unique ID: glathesis:2011-2973
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2012
Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 14:02
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/2973

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