Showing papers on "Polycentricity published in 2017"
TL;DR: In this paper, a critical specification of the attempt by Elinor Ostrom and those influenced by her in the literature to conceptualize this climate governance reality as a polycentric approach is presented.
Abstract: As international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC have adopted the goal to limit the increase in global mean temperature to well below 2° C, a highly differentiated—but largely uncoordinated—global climate governance system has emerged. Although coordinated global collective action for mitigating climate change sufficiently to meet the 2°-C goal is still lacking, a multitude of multilateral, minilateral, transnational, national, subnational, and nonstate actors have emerged. This article offers a critical specification of the attempt by Elinor Ostrom and those influenced by her in the literature to conceptualize this climate governance reality as a polycentric approach. We claim that the concept of polycentricity offers high descriptive value for understanding the horizontal and vertical differentiations of current climate governance, and present systematic analysis of a polycentric approach to deliberately enhance the design of the emerging global climate governance architecture. To systematize the ...
153 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that deliberation is central to reflexive governance, mainly because it can reconcile many if not most of the sometimes contradictory claims that are made in the literature about its drivers.
112 citations
TL;DR: This study addresses the polycentricity issue across four German city regions—Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich—and it finds all of them to still be morphologically dominated by their core cities.
88 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the changes made to water policy following the 2002 reform, outcomes produced in a collection of community-and catchment-level user groups in the Mount Kenya region, and the conformance of these changes and outcomes with principles of polycentricity.
Abstract: Beginning in 2002, Kenyan water governance transitioned from a monocentric, top-down system to one exhibiting traits of polycentricity. In this paper, we investigate the changes made to water policy following the 2002 reform, outcomes produced in a collection of community- and catchment-level user groups in the Mount Kenya region, and the conformance of these changes and outcomes with principles of polycentricity. A new framework is used to capture the complex institutional arrangements and interactions existing before and after the polycentric transformation. Unlike many previous polycentricity studies, the present research focuses primarily on the outcomes of the polycentric shift and determines if these correspond to predictions from polycentricity theory. We utilize survey data collected in 2013 from water managers, as well as archival research to interrogate congruence with principles of polycentricity. This study contributes to the broader discussion on polycentricity in two fundamental ways: (i) It documents the functioning of a water management system following a top-down imposed polycentric reform, and (ii) It empirically inspects whether these polycentric reforms have produced benefits predicted by polycentricity theorists, such as experimentation by local water users, increased collective action, and improved coordination between levels of management.
83 citations
TL;DR: A multi-scalar and dynamic analysis of the knowledge polycentricity of China's Yangtze River Delta Region shows that the structures of knowledge production and knowledge collaboration within and beyond the region have, to differing degrees, become more polycentric.
Abstract: Knowledge polycentricity and the evolving Yangtze River Delta megalopolis. Regional Studies. Inspired by the two defining but often overlooked features of megalopolises as ‘hinges’ and ‘incubators’, this paper presents a multi-scalar and dynamic analysis of the knowledge polycentricity of China’s Yangtze River Delta Region. Using data on publications and co-publications from 2000 to 2014, the results show that the structures of knowledge production and knowledge collaboration within and beyond the region have, to differing degrees, become more polycentric. Whereas the region has acted as an ‘incubator’ of knowledge at the megalopolitan scale, its ‘hinge’ role in knowledge collaboration has been mainly played at the national scale.
72 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how multi-actor governance systems are being implemented and the limiting and enabling factors involved, and identify five strategies that they interpret as responses to the challenge of reconnecting farm modernization and sustainable rural development.
71 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss polycentricity and its implications and point out that the absence of a concise and coherent definition makes it difficult to measure polycentrism and that polycentric countries display higher regional disparities than monocentric countries.
Abstract: This paper aims to discuss polycentrism and its implications. Polycentricity plays a key role in EU Cohesion Policy and has done so since 1999 when the notion was included in the European Spatial Development Perspective. Politically, it emerged as a key tool because of its ability to fuse together the two primary and conflicting perceptions of spatial–economic development, cohesion and competitiveness. No agreed definition of polycentricity exists. Furthermore, different actors and disciplines define polycentrism differently. The absence of a concise and coherent definition makes it difficult to measure polycentricity. Moreover, several studies have concluded that it is difficult to identify empirical evidence to support the positive claims made in its name. Polycentrism is assumed toolbox to reduce regional disparities, but polycentric countries display higher regional disparities than monocentric countries. Polycentric countries do not perform better than monocentric countries with regard to com...
69 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the linkage between urban spatial structure and economic performance using China's Second National Economic Census for cities proper and concluded that polycentricity benefits urban economic performance, as measured by labor productivity.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the spatial structure of employment in 356 US metropolitan regions and conceptualize six typologies based on three categories that have overlapping properties: monocentricity, polycentricity, and generalized dispersion.
Abstract: Although the spatial structure of employment in large US metropolitan regions is a well-researched topic, few studies focus on medium-sized and small US metropolitan regions. Consequently, there is no overall typology relating small-to-medium urban form to employment distribution. We address this gap by investigating the spatial structure of employment in 356 metropolitan regions. We conceptualize six typologies based on three categories that have overlapping properties: “monocentricity,” “polycentricity,” and “generalized dispersion.” The study has three main findings. First, the three types of urban form that we identify as “hybrid” outnumber the three “pure” types by almost four to one. Second, job dispersion is a dominant characteristic in almost 70% of all metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) (including the hybrid types), and polycentricity (56.7% of MSAs) is somewhat more common than monocentricity. Third, there is a strong relationship between population size and density. The population of...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an analysis of the shifting spatial organization of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), a large-scale urbanized region bordering Hong Kong that includes major cities, such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, alongside a range of other fast-developing cities and towns.
58 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the empirical relationship between city-level urban forms and CO2 emissions in 104 Chinese prefectural-level cities was explored, and the analytical focus was on polycentric urban forms.
Abstract: This study explores the empirical relationship between city-level urban forms and CO2 emissions in 104 Chinese prefectural-level cities. Although the analytical focus is on polycentric urba...
TL;DR: In this article, a novel conceptualisation of best practices as a unique mode of global governance is proposed, which is distinguished by basing claims of political authority on existing practices and are purposively constructed by political actors to steer targeted actors toward desired ends.
Abstract: Best practices are increasingly used to govern a range of global issues. Yet, the rise of global governance through best practices has received scant attention in the International Relations literature. How do best practices differ from other modes of governance? How are they constructed? And to what end? We offer a novel conceptualisation of best practices as a unique mode of global governance principally distinguished by basing claims of political authority on existing practices. Belying their apolitical terminology, best practices in global governance are purposively constructed by political actors to steer targeted actors toward desired ends. We illustrate the characteristics of governance through best practices with reference to state and non-state global governance initiatives in a wide range of issue areas, ranging from finance and development to human rights and the environment, and through an in-depth case study of the ISEAL Alliance, a disseminator of best practices for transnational sustainability standard-setters. We find that governance through best practices has both positive and negative consequences. While it offers a pragmatic approach to global governance under conditions of fragmentation and polycentricity, it can also mask underlying power dynamics and political agendas and therefore requires ongoing critical scrutiny.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the level of monocentricity and primacy of principal city in Tehran Metropolitan Region (TMR), in addition to sub-centering and level of polycentrism.
TL;DR: This paper explored the spatial structure in modern major Canadian regions and found that three common models are monocentricity, polycentricity, and dispersion, but these are not always mutually exclusive in the complex spatial structures of contemporary city-regions.
Abstract: Relatively little research has explored spatial structure in modern major Canadian regions. Three common models are monocentricity, polycentricity, and dispersion, but these are not always mutually exclusive in the complex spatial structures of contemporary city-regions. Shifts between these models are discussed in the context of three explanations of economic growth and restructuring: accessibility, municipal competition, and globalization. All three explanations suggest a trend away from monocentricity. While this appears clearly in US cities, disagreement surrounds whether Canadian cities are following the same path. This study uses cross-sectional data from InfoGroup in 2011 to estimate the relative strengths of monocentricity, polycentricity, and dispersion for characterizing eight major regions. Results indicate that elements of each model are evident in all eight study regions, but each tends to dominate in different contexts. When focusing on Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, results imply...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the changing concepts of metropolitan regions in the European Union, France and Germany, and propose a comparative perspective on concepts in policies addressing metropolitan regions, such as policy documents, planning strategies, regulations or reports.
Abstract: In Europe, metropolitan policies emerge in a multi-scalar system of supranational, national and regional scales. Besides national policies on metropolitan issues, more and more European policies address metropolitan regions. They propose varying attributes of what characterizes a metropolitan region, for instance, defining them as functional and statistical areas, or as nodes for European spatial development. These conceptualizations of metropolitan regions have implications for institutional forms of metropolitan governance. However, existing research has not yet comparatively explored the development of metropolitan concepts in national and supranational policy contexts. This paper compares the changing concepts of metropolitan regions in the European Union, France and Germany. It raises the question of how different policies conceptualize metropolitan regions. Thereby, the paper proposes a comparative perspective on concepts in policies addressing metropolitan regions, such as policy documents, planning strategies, regulations or reports. It analyses shifts in metropolitan policies by describing the change of concepts and the reference to frames of spatial development such as polycentricity, competitiveness or integrated development. Three analytical perspectives contribute to understanding the change of metropolitan policies. First, the comparison of concepts in different national and supranational policy contexts develops an understanding of metropolitan regions beyond national specificities. Second, a historical comparison contributes to understanding changes in metropolitan concepts since the late 1990s. And third, analysing the development of metropolitan policies comparatively explores similarities of concepts and frames between policy contexts, despite differences in institutional settings.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider how the soft and indirect mode of governance known as orchestration has contributed to the growth and structure of the increasingly polycentric climate governance system, a system with multiple centers of authority, public and private, at different governance levels.
Abstract: This paper considers how the soft and indirect mode of governance known as orchestration has contributed to the growth and structure of the increasingly polycentric climate governance system – a system with multiple centers of authority, public and private, at different governance levels. It also considers the implications of orchestration’s significant role for some of the major propositions of polycentric governance theory. First, that theory suggests that governance organizations emerge spontaneously through local self-organization, yet governments, international organizations and other actors have orchestrated the formation of many climate governance organizations. Second, the theory suggests that governance organizations coordinate their activities on a decentralized basis through mutual adjustment, yet orchestrators have helped to structure the climate governance system and modestly coordinate its constituent organizations. And third, the theory suggests that polycentric governance encourages experimentation, innovation and learning, yet climate governance lacks an organized system that can promote systematic experimentation and learning. The paper concludes by considering how, in this and other areas, further orchestration would be beneficial.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors adopted a nonparametric method to identify the subcenters, then an employment density model was used to analyze the spatial changes of employment and the employment centers' impacts on the urban spatial structure.
Abstract: Decentralization and polycentric spatial structure strategies are important ways to alleviate urban disease in China. However, whether the urban spatial structure is meeting expectations is still unknown. Taking the Beijing Metropolitan Area as a case, the author adopted a non-parametric method to identify the subcenters, then an employment density model was used to analyze the spatial changes of employment and the employment centers’ impacts on the urban spatial structure. The results show that the Beijing Metropolitan Area was undergoing processes of employment decentralization, the monocentric structure was obvious throughout this time, but the polycentric model prevailed. The spatial structure of the Beijing Metropolitan Area was characterized as depicting “all centers aggregation” and the spatial structure of the central district of Beijing can be described as “subcenter agglomeration” between 2004 and 2013. The spatial structure became increasingly polycentric in the Beijing Metropolitan Area, but became more scattered in the central district.
TL;DR: In this paper, the development of policy by polycentric governance configurations, taking Caribbean overseas territories and their advancements on invasive alien species (IAS) policy as an example, is addressed.
Abstract: We address the development of policy by polycentric governance configurations, taking Caribbean overseas territories and their advancements on invasive alien species (IAS) policy as an example. The British, Dutch, and French islands in the Caribbean address this matter to different degrees, which we analyzed through differences in their type of polycentric governance configuration with their respective European counterpart. We employ a continuum ranging from predominantly polycentric to predominantly monocentric governance configurations to characterize the three case studies. Based on semistructured interviews with government actors, park managers, and NGO employees on Anguilla, Guadeloupe, and St. Eustatius, plus a literature study, we characterize St. Eustatius as highly polycentric and Guadeloupe as becoming increasingly polycentric. Anguilla cannot be considered either of the two, given the virtually absent involvement of the UK. Policy development on IAS showed most progress in Guadeloupe, whereas in Anguilla and St. Eustatius, IAS management is ad hoc. Within these cases, the hampering effect of dispute about the functioning of the configuration was clear. For Guadeloupe, increasing autonomy to decide on policy priorities within a coherent system where standards are set and ample resources made available appears conducive to policy development. That same balance inherent to polycentric systems between autonomy and coherence is hard to strike for St. Eustatius, and currently mainly perceived as a trade-off, hampering policy development. By discussing these three cases, this study illustrates how different polycentric configurations can affect policy development.
TL;DR: In this paper, an ideal-type model of the evolution of transnational polycentric governance is developed, and the plausibility of the model is probed using the case of REDD+, drawing on global-level data on REDD+, as well as fieldwork in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Abstract: Polycentric systems of governance may help address two key challenges in the transnational governance of socioecological systems, the problems of fragmentation and fit, but there is limited understanding of the processes through which polycentric governance systems emerge. This paper draws on institutional economics and accounts of international regime formation to develop an ideal-type model of the evolution of transnational polycentric governance. In particular, the model highlights systematically different transaction costs across different phases of polycentric governance evolution. These costs result in important trade-offs between building a broad coalition during agenda setting and addressing complexity in implementation. The plausibility of the model is probed using the case of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), drawing on global-level data on REDD+ collaboration, as well as fieldwork in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. This case suggests that low transaction costs in the agenda-setting phase led to a confused vision for what REDD+ should be, ultimately hampering implementation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the geographies of these polycentric networks in what are arguably China's two most important mega-city regions: the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta(PRD).
Abstract: Large-scale urban regions are increasingly functioning as the territorial backbone of the global economy. Many of these mega-city regions are polycentric in that they consist of a range of densely interwoven cities and towns. The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the geographies of these polycentric networks in what are arguably China’s two most important mega-city regions: the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). To this end, we deployed a methodology that allowed the analysis of the shifting spatial organization of mega-city regions through the lens of the headquarters–branches linkages of corporations; that is, we explored the mega-city regions’ constituent urban networks by looking at the ownership linkages running from a corporation’s headquarters to the corporation’s branches. In the process, this research extended and refined the statistical tools that are often deployed to measure polycentricity. Our results suggest that in both the YRD and the PRD there are more and more linkages interconnecting the mega-city region. The two regions share the following features: the general level of polycentricity is increasing, even though the concentration of headquarters is also increasing; and the growth of the general level of polycentricity mainly originates from higher levels of network density. There are, however, also fundamental differences between the YRD and the PRD: firms in the PRD are more likely to set up branches beyond the prefectures’ boundaries, which results in higher levels of network density than in the YRD; there is a relatively 'flatter' intercity network in the YRD compared to the PRD, in which there are more firms’ links interconnecting the four major cities (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan and Foshan), rather than other small and medium-size cities.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated both the impact of polycentric urban development on labour mobility and other urban factors influencing excess commuting, using travel-to-work data for the main seven metropolitan systems in Spain, and found that there is an inverse relationship between the number and size of subcentres in terms of employment and the distance travelled by commuters.
30 Jun 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between urban sprawl and the urban system is explored and an integrated theoretical, conceptual and methodological framework is formulated based on the concept of polycentricity.
Abstract: The article explores the relationship between urban sprawl and the urban system. Urban sprawl is not considered to be a static, unsustainable urban form, but rather a dynamic process of urban deconcentration through which the urban structure evolves. After identifying the main characteristics of urban sprawl, this article investigates the connection between urban sprawl and the urban system through the concept of polycentricity. Finally, the two-way relationship between urban sprawl and the urban system is highlighted. Based on the above, an integrated theoretical, conceptual and methodological framework is formulated. A key finding was the emergence of ‘small-scale’ polycentricity, which implies increasing monocentricity over a wider spatial area. This raises questions over the distinction between the negative phenomenon of urban sprawl and sustainable polycentric forms, and points out a need to review the explanatory devices and theories used in spatial analysis and planning. Empirical evidence was extracted from Thessaloniki’s Influence Area.
TL;DR: It plays more important role for the members of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center and Policemen of Precincts due to the inadequacy of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, from the perspective of Polycentricity and Collaborative Governance.
Abstract: A paradigm shift from a centralized authority system to a polycentric authority network has occurred in multiple areas of Drug Prevention due to the greater prevalence of collaborative governance. Drug policy is an example of a particularly contentious and polarized area in which governability is being critically examined. The Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act illustrates our government's strong tendency to enhance its governability. Sound governance of drug control usually involves a well design safety net and a wide range of capable actors and stakeholders that include policemen, public servants, practitioners, and other. Among these actors, the roles of policemen have been changed due to the fragmentation of authority and the reframing of the drug control structure. In this study, focus group and in-depth interviews will be applied to discuss the potential problems and issues, followed by two survey researches implemented for members of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center and Policemen of Precincts. From the perspective of Polycentricity and Collaborative Governance, the study found it plays more important role for the members of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center and Policemen of Precincts due to the inadequacy of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.
11 Oct 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, the challenges and potentials of polycentric governance for low-emission rural development by using the Brazilian State of Acre, situated in the Southwestern Amazon, as a case study are examined.
Abstract: Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), while at the same time keeping up agricultural production, is a major challenge for environmental governance in the Amazon region. Top-down strategies fail to align the diverse levels and sectors of government and exclude local stakeholders from the process. Effective climate governance should link climate change mitigation and adaptation policies with agricultural policies, in order to promote Low-Emission Rural Development (LED-R). The concept of polycentric governance, developed by Elinor Ostrom to examine common-pool resource management, is a bottom-up innovative framework for multi-level governance that has proven to benefit climate change mitigation. Polycentricity highlights the importance of vertical and horizontal integration as well as learning-by-doing. This study examines the challenges and potentials of polycentric governance for low-emission rural development by using the Brazilian State of Acre, situated in the Southwestern Amazon, as a case study. Acre, known for its advanced sub-national program for incentives for ecosystem services (SISA), is an example for bottom-up innovation for low-emission rural development.
02 Mar 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative study was conducted to determine how capacity (assets, capabilities and context) affects the performance of institutions to effectively regulate access to the Kafue fishery.
Abstract: Fisheries in developing countries are coming under increased pressure as accessibility improves and more people seek better catches, higher prices and access to expanding urban markets. Evidence shows that institutional arrangements that have successfully regulated access to fish stocks over many generations are now proving ineffective as new entrants gain access and over-exploit the stocks. Over the past thirty years, exploitation of the floodplain fishery of the Kafue River in Zambia has increased markedly as more people settle in the area and “seasonal migrants” access the fishery during the flood season. The capacity to exclude new entrants is thus a key determinant of achieving sustainable use.
The purpose of this study was to determine how capacity (assets, capabilities and context) affects the performance of institutions (organised groups of actors) to effectively regulate access to the Kafue fishery. The design of the study was qualitative in nature, drawing on interviews and documentary analysis to identify capacity constraints and successes in the governance structures in two fishing camps on the Kafue Flats that differ in their accessibility. The semi-structured interviews involved 29 respondents from Shimungalu and Nyimba fishing camps on the Kafue Flats, Zambia. I compare the findings to provide insights into why regulation was effective at one site – Shimungalu – and not at the other–Nyimba.
The study revealed that the government’s ability to effectively regulate access to and use of the fish resource is constrained by limited assets. The reality is that the government will not be able to acquire sufficient resources necessary to effectively regulate access to and use of the Kafue fishery on its own. Migrant fisher-folk use their assets and capabilities to establish a context that makes it difficult for them to be excluded, especially in fishing camps such as Nyimba, where the actors have low self-esteem and confidence, resulting in an inferiority complex and inability to enforce by-laws.
While there will always be capacity constraints in governance, the findings of this study expose an opportunity for the government and other stakeholders to strengthen their capacities when a nested system with polycentric governance (polycentricity) is understood and implemented. The situation in Shimungalu demonstrates that polycentricity strengthens horizontal and vertical links amongst groups of actors, improves connectivity, mobilises local resources, facilitates co-learning and provides opportunities to combat corruption.
Polycentricity represents a collective governance system in which all groups of actors involved in fisheries management on the Kafue floodplain fishery can interact across scales and levels under a general set of rules. It offers a solution because it enables organisations to fill institutional voids and configure the available assets and capabilities in ways that allow them to meet the challenge posed by migrants while also promoting appropriate harvesting methods. It is suggested that further study should be conducted to deepen the understanding of establishing and operationalising a more formal nested system with polycentric governance in the management of common pool resources (CPRs).