Interdependence and Complementarity of a Multi-Dimensional Concept of Sustainable Development and the Integrated Approach to Urban Governance—Case Study City of Zagreb

Abstract

Modern cities bear the entire burden and responsibility of operationalizing the concept of sustainable development, since they are the ones that represent the greatest threat to its implementation. The sustainability of cities largely depends on the form of public governance and decision making; in fact, this interdependence is a prerequisite for all the relevant progress in sustainable development that many European cities strive to achieve. An approach to governance in European cities that has proven to be the most effective in achieving urban sustainability is an integrated one, as it encompasses the coordination, cooperation and integration of sectoral policies and the participation of different actors at all levels of governance. Considering the prominence that the concept of sustainable development holds in public policies and concepts of urban development nowadays, the aim of this paper is to present the interdependence and complementarity of a multidimensional concept of sustainable development and the integrated approach to urban governance. The empirical section of the paper is focused on the analysis of documents used as a normative basis for providing answers to the research question: Are there elements of an integrated governance approach in the City of Zagreb, and is the interdependence of the two concepts acknowledged in the normative framework?