Modern political economy, global environmental change and urban sustainability transitions

Abstract

Our paper has two major aims: to argue that lessons from modern political economy are critical for urban transitions to sustainability and to position relevant urban sustainability transitions literature within distinct focus areas of modern political economy—in particular, endogenous institutions. We address those aims by providing examples of recent scholarship on institutional change and modern urban political economy that has significant implications for the understanding of urban transitions to sustainability. Furthermore, we explore the relevance of endogenous institutions for global environmental change and urban sustainability transitions; we utilize three relevant conceptual areas: (i) the choice of institutions and institutional change; (ii) the maintenance of institutions and institutional robustness; (iii) effective or ‘good’ urban governance and government failures.