LIST OF PANELS

Metropolises in the Global South face complex, multifaceted challenges in the search for more liveability and sustainable development paths. Besides the currently dominant global environmental agenda with its focus on climate change, biodiversity, environmental security, and sustainable lifestyles, there are still more basic urban matters in the Global South that need attention, above all concerning urban services and infrastructure in the field of water, sanitation and waste, but also related to poor housing conditions, transportation, public health and education and organized crime. Not surprisingly, the metropolises of the Global South perform poorly in the UN-Habitat prosperity index (UN-Habitat, 2015; Nagendra et al., 2018).

Considering (1) that global sustainability depends necessarily on sustainable transformation of the cities in the Global South, where most of the future increases of resource and energy consumption, and of greenhouse gas emissions will take place, (2) the fact that most of the research on urban sustainability is shaped and dominated by scholars from the Global North (Nagendra et al. 2018), and (3) that urban development strategies in the Global South have typically followed blueprints and standard solutions from northern countries and international development agencies, frequently contributing to environmental degradation, undermining actively local control and capacity, and suppressing alternative development paths in accordance with local conditions and potentialities (Korten, 2006) , and (4) that in the context of the developing world the claim for social inclusiveness is paramount (Gupta & Vegelin, 2016), this panel aims at exploring alternative, situated Global South-specific approaches to urban sustainable development from governance and policy perspectives (Lawhon et al, 2017) in view of the complex everyday challenges posed to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).

Thus, the main research questions guiding the papers and discussions in this panel are the following:

• What are the particularities of practices in urban environmental governance and policy in metropolises of the Global South?
• Is there a distinct Global South approach and situated context of urban environmental governance and policy arising?
• Are there proper conceptual approaches in the field of environmental governance and public policy in line with these particular challenges of Global South metropolises?

Starting from the hypotheses that there is the need for an appropriate Southern approach on environmental governance and public policy in the Global South in order to arrive at a more comprehensive view of the possibilities of global sustainability and of viable, alternative, socially sensitive and environmentally oriented policy strategies in metropolises of the Global South, the panel intends to bring together papers involving:

• Theories and concepts on environmental governance and public policy from a specific Global South perspective, including theoretical concerns related to democracy, participation, (environmental) policy analysis, social inclusion, social and environmental justice.
• Methodological approaches on public policies and policy analysis related to metropolises in the Global South
• Case studies and comparative studies (South-South or North-South) on innovative policy and governance experiences in Global South metropolises.
• Theoretical discussions on the praxis of southern city governance and policy making.

References

Gupta, J. & Vegelin, C. (2016). Sustainable development goals and inclusive development. Int Environ Agreements, 16: 433-448

Korten, D.C. (2006). The great turning: From empire to earth community. Bloomfield, San Francisco: Kumarian Press, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Lawhon, M.; Nilsson, D. Silver, J.; Ernstson, H. & Lwasa, S. (2017) Thinking through heterogeneous infrastructure configurations. Urban Studies, 55 (4): 720 – 732

Nagendra, H.; Bai, X.; Brondizio, E.S & Lwasa, S. The urban South and the predicament of global sustainability. Nature Sustainability, v.1, 341-349.

UN-Habitat (2015). The City prosperity initiative. 2015 Global City Report.  

Metropolises in the Global South face complex, multifaceted challenges in the search for more liveability and sustainable development paths. Considering (1) that global sustainability depends necessarily on sustainable transformation of the cities in the Global South, where most of the future increases of resource and energy consumption, and of greenhouse gas emissions will take place; (2) the fact that most of the research on urban sustainability is shaped and dominated by scholars from the Global North; (3) that urban development strategies in the Global South have typically followed blueprints and standard solutions from northern countries and international development agencies, frequently contributing to environmental degradation, undermining actively local control and capacity, and suppressing alternative development paths in accordance with local conditions and potentialities; and (4) that in the context of the developing world the claim for social inclusiveness is paramount, this panel aims at exploring alternative, situated Global South-specific approaches to urban sustainable development from governance and policy perspectives in view of the complex everyday challenges posed to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).

Starting from the hypotheses that there is the need for an appropriate Southern approach on environmental governance and public policy in the Global South, we are inviting paper proposals on the following topics:

• Theories and concepts on environmental governance and public policy from a specific Global South perspective, including theoretical concerns related to democracy, participation, (environmental) policy analysis, social inclusion, social and environmental justice.
• Methodological approaches on public policies and policy analysis related to metropolises in the Global South
• Case studies and comparative studies (South-South or North-South) on innovative policy and governance experiences in Global South metropolises.
• Theoretical discussions on the praxis of southern city governance and policy making.