Introduction

Cities are increasingly shaping the trajectory and impacts of climate change. While local actors play a central role in designing the institutions, infrastructures, and behaviors that drive decarbonization and adaptation to changing climatic conditions, their options and incentives are inextricably enmeshed within broader political and economic processes. Resolving these tensions and contradictions is likely to require innovative approaches to governing climate change in the city: new interactions, new political actors, new ways of coordinating and mobilizing resources, and new frameworks and technical capacities for decision-making. This book presents pioneering work on the range of innovative practices, experiments, and ideas that are becoming an integral part of urban climate change governance in the twenty-first century. Theoretically, the book builds on a nearly two-decade history of scholarship identifying the emergence of new urban actors, spaces, and political dynamics in response to climate change. Empirically, the chapters investigate new governance arrangements from around the world and leverage the insights they provide for both theory and practice. The book is organized around four guiding questions: 1) how do multilevel governance arrangements relate to innovation for urban climate change governance? 2) where is the greatest need for innovation? 3) where is innovation difficult or stifled? 4) how can innovation be fostered and encouraged in a multilevel governance context?