International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development ISSN: 1946-3138 (Print) 1946-3146 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjue20 Blending adaptive governance and institutional theory to explore urban resilience and sustainability strategies in the Rome metropolitan area, Italy Paula Vandergert, Marcus Collier, Stephan Kampelmann & Darryl Newport To cite this article: Paula Vandergert, Marcus Collier, Stephan Kampelmann & Darryl Newport (2015): Blending adaptive governance and institutional theory to explore urban resilience and sustainability strategies in the Rome metropolitan area, Italy, International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, DOI: 10.1080/19463138.2015.1102726 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2015.1102726 Published online: 02 Nov 2015. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 4 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjue20 Download by: [University College Dublin] Date: 24 November 2015, At: 02:30 International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2015.1102726 Blending adaptive governance and institutional theory to explore urban resilience and sustainability strategies in the Rome metropolitan area, Italy Paula Vandergerta*, Marcus Collierb, Stephan Kampelmannc and Darryl Newporta aSustainability Research Institute, University of East London, London, UK; bSchool of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; cSBS-EM (DULBEA, CEB), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium (Received 4 September 2014; accepted 28 September 2015) Adaptive governance is an emerging theory in natural resource management. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the potential of adaptive governance for delivering resilience and sustainability in the urban context. We explore emerging challenges to transitioning to urban resilience and sustainability: bringing together multiple scales and institutions; facilitating a social–ecological-systems approach; and embedding social and environmental equity into visions of urban sustainability and resilience. Current approaches to adaptive governance could be helpful for addressing these first two challenges but not in addressing the third. Therefore, this paper proposes strengthening the institutional foundations of adaptive governance by engaging with institutional theory. We explore this through empirical research in the Rome Metropolitan Area, Italy. We argue that explicitly engaging with these themes could lead to a more substantive urban transition strategy and contribute to adaptive governance theory. Keywords: urban resilience; urban sustainability; adaptive governance; urban transitions; institutions 1. Introduction sustainability and resilience? After first outlining In an increasingly urbanised world, social inequal- the challenges for urban sustainability and resili- ities, economic boom and bust, degraded environ- ence, we review adaptive governance, which has ment, climate change and unsustainable resource use evolved within natural resource management lit- are all problems that are discussed in the urban erature. Our analysis suggests that adaptive gov- context (see, for example, Harvey 2009; Rydin & ernance can help address urban challenges of Kendall Bush 2009; Lancet 2012). In the face of combining multiple governance scales and institu- these challenges, urban sustainability and resilience tions and adopting a systems approach that inte- Downloaded by [University College Dublin] at 02:30 24 November 2015 are emerging as twin goals, whereby policy-makers grates the social, economic and ecological. are articulating visions for the way urban societies However, we highlight a limitation common to and places should be (Ahern 2013). Given the com- discourses in urban sustainability and resilience plexity of the urban context, how to deliver these and adaptive governance: addressing environmen- visions remains a key governance challenge, particu- tal and social equity and the impacts of asym- larly in a socially and environmentally equitable way. metric power relations. We propose blending In this paper, we explore a central question: adaptive governance and institutional theory to fi how helpful is an adaptive governance lens in develop a re ned conceptual framework that exploring transition strategies to achieve urban could address this gap. We explore this framework *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] © 2015 Taylor & Francis 2 P. Vandergert et al. through analysis of urban resilience and sustain- methods and minimising pollutants, and more ability strategies in the Rome Metropolitan Area, recently climate change adaptation. Whilst there Italy. We reflect on the empirical analysis and how is ongoing progress in the development of new helpful the conceptual framework is in understand- technologies and innovative approaches to urban ing complex real-world processes to establish sus- challenges, harnessing these innovations to most tainable and resilient urban strategies and how our effective use is often a governance issue contribution can address gaps in the adaptive gov- (Vandergert et al. 2013). Williams (2010) high- ernance literature. lights the need to move beyond dualistic thinking in relation to technological advances on the one hand and social change on the other. Policies and 2. Urban sustainability and resilience: practice to integrate multiple disciplines and scales fi de nitions and challenges in a systems approach remain a key urban chal- Sustainable development has become a paradigm lenge, as does the form of governance best able to that has guided many global processes and policy harness a systems approach. developments in terms of elaborating societal and Resilience is identified as a specificpropertyof environmentally beneficial development goals. an element or system whereby it can recover after an Three important principles were established by endogenous or exogenous shock. Within urban dis- the World Commission on Environment and aster management, resilience is identified as the Development and the first intergovernmental ability to respond positively to exogenous shocks, Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. These principles such as earthquakes or flooding, to recover normal were the three pillars of sustainable development functions quickly (Ye & Okada 2001;Price& (environment, society, economy); the need for Vo ji no vi c 2008). Within ecology, resilience is the both global and local actions; the need to consider ability of species or ecosystems to recover and/or future generations (WCED 1987). Neumayer adapt in the face of endogenous and exogenous (2010) distinguishes between weak and strong shocks (Holling 1986). Unlike sustainability, resili- sustainability concepts, where strong sustainability ence in origin is objective rather than normative: is an effective combination of the three pillars so resilience is not necessarily a ‘good thing’–poverty that there is balance between environmental, social or invasive species can be resilient to efforts to and economic goals. In the urban context, where reduce or eradicate them. However, discourses of social and economic concerns have tended to resilience have been evolving to become more nor- dominate, a primary goal of urban sustainable mative, more abstract, and to emphasise the positive development is the explicit inclusion of environ- resilience property of adaptation within an anticipa- mental considerations within urban policy, plan- tory/proactive conceptualisation, rather than as a ning and development (Cities Alliance 2007; return to the status quo paradigm (e.g. Cowell Wilkinson 2012; Pickett et al. 2013). However, 2013). This is particularly evident in discourses of Downloaded by [University College Dublin] at 02:30 24 November 2015 the concept of an urban system based on an envir- climate adaptation and resilience (see, for example, onmental system is far from the mainstream Tyler & Moench 2012; Bahadur & Tanner 2014). approach to urban planning and management (Da Thus, whilst urban resilience has long been dis- Silva et al. 2012). Discourses about how to cussed in relation to (natural) disaster management achieve urban sustainability often take place such as earthquakes, it is emerging as a new policy within particular disciplines, for example, architec- and planning vision in relation to climate change ture; urban design; planning; engineering; trans- adaptation, and how cities’ infrastructures, commu- port management; energy management; and green nities and governments can adapt to the impacts of a business. Thus, debates at policy level often tend changing climate, particularly the increased occur- to focus around low carbon technologies, resource rence of extreme weather events (Da Silva et al. efficiency, sustainable construction materials and 2012;Davoudi2012; Collier et al. 2013). In the International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 3 UK, for example, climate change adaptation has individuals rather than government, and the inher- been included as a risk in Local Resilience ent ‘blindness’ to political processes associated Forums, alongside terrorism (Welsh 2014). with asymmetric power and government responsi- Whilst these definitions of urban sustainability bility. Boyd (2012, p. 258) expresses the gap as and resilience are useful, we believe there are criti- follows: ‘resilience