Local Action Plans Research Articles

The role of local self-government bodies in administrative and legal regulation of environmental safety

Purpose. The analysis of the role of local governments in the administrative and legal regulation of environmental safety. Methods. The interaction among administrative-legal and economic tools of environmental safety regulation in the analysis of collection, receipts and use of funds from the payment of environmental tax by the cost method is studied. Results. The comparative analysis of the main provisions of the Strategies of the state environemtnal policy till 2020 and till 2030 is carried out. It was found that until 2020, the responsibility for the availability and accuracy of environmental information was on the executive, not local governments. It is noted that by 2020 the indicator of effectiveness of the Strategy was the number of adopted local action plans for environmental protection, a strategic environmental assessment is among the qualitative indicators, however, the relevant law was adopted 7 years after the Strategy, and the first assessments were conducted only in 2019. It was found that the Strategy until 2030 needs to be adjusted either in terms of recalculating the planned targets for achieving the Environmental Performance Index (ERI) (achieving a score below 83 points) or recalculating the entire Strategy in order to intensify it and overcome "weaknesses". are highlighted when using the new ERI assessment methodology. Conclusions. It was found that the transfer of most of the revenue from the environmental tax to the general fund of the state budget created risks of their misuse, which does not allow local governments to fully implement environmental measures in accordance with the needs of cities and regions. Among the main proposals to improve this situation are to increase the size of the environmental tax, change the distribution of revenues from the environmental tax by increasing revenues to local budgets, developing a mechanism for economic incentives for enterprises that implement measures to maintain environmental safety.

Indoor Temperatures in the 2018 Heat Wave in Quebec, Canada: Exploratory Study Using Ecobee Smart Thermostats.

BackgroundClimate change, driven by human activity, is rapidly changing our environment and posing an increased risk to human health. Local governments must adapt their cities and prepare for increased periods of extreme heat and ensure that marginalized populations do not suffer detrimental health outcomes. Heat warnings traditionally rely on outdoor temperature data which may not reflect indoor temperatures experienced by individuals. Smart thermostats could be a novel and highly scalable data source for heat wave monitoring.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to explore whether smart thermostats can be used to measure indoor temperature during a heat wave and identify houses experiencing indoor temperatures above 26°C.MethodsWe used secondary data—indoor temperature data recorded by ecobee smart thermostats during the Quebec heat waves of 2018 that claimed 66 lives, outdoor temperature data from Environment Canada weather stations, and indoor temperature data from 768 Quebec households. We performed descriptive statistical analyses to compare indoor temperatures differences between air conditioned and non–air conditioned houses in Montreal, Gatineau, and surrounding areas from June 1 to August 31, 2018.ResultsThere were significant differences in indoor temperature between houses with and without air conditioning on both heat wave and non–heat wave days (P<.001). Households without air conditioning consistently recorded daily temperatures above common indoor temperature standards. High indoor temperatures persisted for an average of 4 hours per day in non–air conditioned houses.ConclusionsOur findings were consistent with current literature on building warming and heat retention during heat waves, which contribute to increased risk of heat-related illnesses. Indoor temperatures can be captured continuously using smart thermostats across a large population. When integrated with local heat health action plans, these data could be used to strengthen existing heat alert response systems and enhance emergency medical service responses.

Climate change acknowledgment to promote sustainable development: A critical discourse analysis of local action plans in coastal Florida

AbstractGlobally, the consequences of climate change have rapidly necessitated local government action to mitigate and adapt to rising sea levels, increased storm frequency, and higher temperatures. Acknowledgement of underlying climate issues, however, varies widely across regions and towns. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), this paper evaluates the climate change acknowledgment of five municipality sustainability action plans (SAP) in coastal Florida and the broader implications for sustainable development. Public pressure, environmental champions, and recent storm events causing infrastructure damage were identified as key factors underpinning coastal climate change acknowledgement. Notably, the plans that admitted the anthropogenic causes of climate change were more optimistic and action focused. By emphasizing local mitigation efforts and opportunities, they were more empowering than those that treated climate threats as inevitable external circumstances. Anthropogenic climate change acknowledgment is thus a powerful tool for local governments to catalyze action when developing their sustainability goals and plans.

A multi-level intervention to eliminate hepatitis C from the Region of Southern Denmark: the C-Free-South project

Denmark has signed the WHO strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the absence of a national strategy for elimination, a local action plan was developed in the Region of Southern Denmark (RSD). The aim of the strategy is to diagnose 90% of HCV-infected persons and treat 80% of those diagnosed by 2025. The strategy was developed by reviewing Danish data on HCV epidemiology and drug use to identify key populations for screening, linkage to care, and treatment. Based on available published data from 2016, an estimated 3028 persons in the RSD were HCV-RNA positive (population prevalence 0.21%). Of these, 1002 were attending clinical care, 1299 were diagnosed but not in clinical care, and 727 were undiagnosed. Three different interventions targeting the HCV-infected population and two interventions for HCV surveillance are planned to achieve elimination. The “C-Free-South” strategy aims to eliminate HCV in our region by identifying (90%) and treating (80%) of infected persons by the end of 2025, 5 years earlier than the WHO elimination target date.

The Oktober Flut: An anomalous extreme high-water event in Annapolis, MD, USA, October 2021

Between 28 and 30 October 2021, Annapolis, Maryland, USA, experienced the third highest flood event on record, referred to as the “Oktober Flut.” Unlike many of the extreme coastal flood events that have impacted Annapolis in the past, the Oktober Flut was not associated with a tropical or post-tropical cyclone. Instead, sustained wind forcing from a series of passing extratropical storms drove anomalously high water levels. The maximum observed hourly water level during the event was 4.88 ft above mean lower low water (MLLW). This exceeded the Moderate Flood Stage, defined by the National Weather Service (NWS) as 3.3 ft (MLLW), and had an annual exceedance probability of 5.2%. In total, flood waters exceeded the NWS Minor Flood Stage (2.6 ft MLLW) for 78 non-consecutive hours over multiple tidal periods. Relative sea level rise and increasing instances of coastal nuisance flooding events, like the Oktober Flut, have the potential to impact the local economy in Annapolis, MD, and operations at the geographically adjacent U.S. Naval Academy. Coastal nuisance flooding events also challenge existing community resilience efforts and initiatives, particularly those related to preparing for natural hazards. This paper provides an overview of the meteorological factors that drove the anomalously high-water levels and coastal flooding at the U.S. Naval Academy. In addition to data analysis from fixed, long-term sensors maintained by federal partners, observations from spotdeployments in advance of the storm are also presented. The results are discussed with respect to the storm impacts on infrastructure and facility preparedness. Lessons learned are documented with the aim of informing other coastal communities on how to better assess local flood-specific action plans, based on the accuracy and timing of forecast data.

Older Adult Mortality From COVID-19: Food Access as a Determinant Within a Socio-ecological Framework.

Background and ObjectivesLow access to food can have an adverse impact on health yet there is limited research on how it is related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of this study was to (a) better understand how inadequate food access was associated with older adult mortality from COVID-19 and (b) determine the spatial distribution of mortality from low food access utilizing a socio-ecological framework.Research Design and MethodsThis study area was the larger Midwest, a region of the United States, which included the following states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Data were aggregated from multiple sources at the county-level. Because the spatial data used in this study violated several assumptions of the global regression framework, geographically weighted regression (GWR) was employed.ResultsResults from GWR revealed low access to food was positively associated with mortality from COVID-19 for older adults but the association varied in (a) magnitude and (b) significance across the larger Midwest. More specifically, the socio-ecological framework suggested low access to food, female-headed households, and percentage Hispanic played a meaningful role in explaining older adult mortality for the western region of the larger Midwest. This was not as evident for the eastern portion.Discussion and ImplicationsSuch a finding calls attention to the importance of capturing the local context when devising policies to reduce mortality for older adults from COVID-19. Regional policymakers can collaborate with public health professionals when applying these results to formulate local action plans that recognize variations across geographic space.

Localisation of the UNSCR 1325 Agenda: Lessons from post-Maidan Ukraine (2014-2020)

Ukraine adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security whilst facing an active military conflict on its territory. The country also invested in localising the Women, Peace and Security agenda through the development of regional and local action plans. Additionally, several ministries adopted sectoral action plans. This article looks at the context in which Ukraine developed its first NAP 1325 (post-Maidan) and assesses the NAP against global high impact NAP indicators. The authors then focus on connections between the national and regional/local-level plans and conclude that Ukraine's first NAP did 'trigger' localisation initiatives in the form of Regional Action Plans (RAP) on UNSCR 1325, with Local Action Plans having been initiated via a separate track. A certain level of synergy was realised between initiatives stemming from these plans. The authors do, however, conclude untapped potential remains to further nurture, facilitate and support bottom-up Women, Peace and Security initiatives in Ukraine.

Factors Associated with Post-Natal Care Utilization among the Women of Reproductive age Group: Evidence from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18

Postnatal period is a crucial stage of illness for mothers and their newborn children. Lack of post-natal care (PNC) services during this period is lifethreatening for both the mother and the babies. This study aims at examining the associated factors of PNC utilization among the mothers to explore the opportunities to accelerate it. This study utilized the latest data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017-18, a nationally representative survey. A weighted sample of 5043 Bangladeshi women who gave birth three years prior to the survey was studied. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the underlying factors associated with the utilization of PNC. Around 63% women sought PNC from any kind of provider within 24 h to 42 days of the delivery among whom more than 48% received it from medically trained providers. Together with several sociodemographic factors- administrative division, place of residence, educational level, employment status, wealth status, some maternal factors such as- antenatal care (ANC) visits, place and mode of delivery- played a significant role in utilizing PNC services from trained providers. To further improve utilization of post-natal care, national and local level action plans should be introduced to promote health facility delivery irrespective of their place of residence. In the meantime, PNC awareness campaigns, intervention and economic empowerment programs targeting mothers from the poorest quintile needs to be implemented, particularly those who are unable to attend at least four ANC visits, and have accessibility issues to education.

Convergências entre planejamento de atenção primária à saúde e os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável: uma avaliação de planos municipais de saúde do Brasil e Chile

Abstract This study addresses the importance of Primary Health Care (PHC) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), assessing convergences between two municipal PHC agendas and the 2030 Global Agenda. For this purpose, the PHC actions included in the municipal health plans of Santiago, Chile, and São Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated by content analysis. Results showed that the PHC actions planned in Santiago contributed to 14 SDGs while in São Paulo, the actions contributed to the entire 2030 Agenda, although both plans lacked references to the SDGs. Thus, the PHC actions provided in municipal agendas are essential to achieve the SDGs. However, this relationship is not adequately reported, which can compromise the investment of greater resources in this sector. Therefore, a greater alignment between local, national, and global action plans and policies is required, as well as integrated and continuous training for communities and health teams and a greater use and diffusion of technologies already available in regional and intersectoral approaches to municipal health plans.

Climate change and some adaptation measures in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon

Cameroon aspires to emergence by 2035. Since 2009, it has drawn up reference documents such as the “Vision 2035” and the “Strategy Document for Growth and Employment”, which include growth goals such as poverty reduction, economic development, industrialization, democracy and unity. In addition, in the document of the Intended Determined Contribution to the National Plan submitted to the United Nations, the country undertakes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions up to 32% by 2035, with particular emphasis on renewable energy which will contribute 25% of total electricity production. The Sudano-Sahelian region of Cameroon is the region most threatened by climate change. For more than a decade, actions have been carried out both under government leadership and private initiatives to reduce the effects of global warming on the socio-economic development of the region. In our work, we will present some of the local action plans experienced both in the laboratory and in the field based on energy, agriculture, environmental techniques, and hydraulics and water control.

National development strategies in terms of ensuring environmental rights and interests: Comparative approach

The study is devoted to scientific and theoretical analysis of the principles of state activity in the development of national policy in the context of ensuring human’s environmental rights and interests, the creation of effective legal mechanisms for their guarantee, exercise, and protection, solving systemic issues in this area. The purpose of the study is a comprehensive examination and analysis of legislation from the standpoint of greening national and foreign policy, national development strategies. The methodological basis of the study is a set of general philosophical, general scientific, special scientific, and legal methods. It is proposed to consider greening as a multifaceted phenomenon. In general, the state environmental policy is a component of state policy, which fixes its strategic goals and objectives, defined for the future, considering environmental factors. It is proved that at the legislative level there should be clear mechanisms for the legal support of integration of environmental policy into sectoral, national, and regional strategies, local action plans, and interaction with civil society institutions, the scientific community. It is argued that modern state environmental policy and further systematisation of environmental legislation should be based on the provisions of environmental law doctrine to consider modern approaches to environmental regulation, integration of environmental requirements and regulations to state planning, sectoral, regional, and local development. Based on conducted research and synthesis, proposals and recommendations for the development of a unified concept of legal policy, in particular, environmental legal policy as its component, also, for the improvement of national regulatory framework (namely by adopting the Concept of systematisation of environmental legislation and modernisation of the contemporary strategy of state environmental policy) are elaborated

The Jambur Karo Building View from The Lens of Disability Concerning Local Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities

Jambur is a public meeting building in the Karo Batak tribe, or just called Karo, which has a robust kinship system and can see it from the architecture of the traditional building. Even in realizing the building by using the community's approach, it becomes an empowering process for all procedures. We see that deliberation for consensus is not something impossible which is not just lip service. The principles of genuine and open democracy took place, but that only happened in the past, maybe. Because it turns out that we build no longer with the heart and character but with an approach that is often consumptive and hedonistic, this has become a very extreme and blind problem. We see it in terms of personal character development and Karo community both in Jakarta, Medan, including cities in Tanah Karo such as Kaban-Jahe and Berastagi, and others. Is there any concern or equity for vulnerable or marginalized communities in the design and planning process? Let us build it together. Nothing is impossible. Can the regional action plan be developed regarding the accessibility of physical buildings such as jambur or public meeting buildings? Can it be implemented? Furthermore, is it compatible with the National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities? So that everything can be well coordinated. &#x0D;

Assessment of Water Quality Parameters and their Seasonal Behaviour in a Portuguese Water Supply System: a 6-year Monitoring Study.

Water quality monitoring is a fundamental tool in the management of freshwater resources. The purpose of monitoring is to provide meaningful quality data for local action planning and catchment-wide decision making. The assessment of water quality is crucial to guarantee the efficient operation of the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs), promoting health conditions and contributing for a more sustainable urban water cycle. In accordance, the objective of this study was to evaluate key target chemical and microbiological water quality parameters, some of them already monitored within Portuguese/EU legal framework and others still not regulated, but with environmental and human heath relevance. A local monitoring database model, using a 6-year period (from 2014 to 2019) of water quality data, regarding water samples collected on representative sampling locations covering the freshwater abstraction sites, conventional WTPs and distribution network was assessed. This work provides new knowledge regarding occurrence and seasonal behaviour for both microbiological and chemical water quality parameters, essential to understand/manage the water supply system. Additionally, relationships between the target variables were also assessed. Particularly, strong correlations were identified between TOC and THMs formation at distribution network (r = 0.69; p ≤ 0.001); nitrates were the water quality parameter that revealed the best correlation between surface water source and treated water (r = 0.81; p ≤ 0.001), suggesting that treatment yield/performance is dependent on surface water load. The local and continuous monitoring of water systems are crucial to implement new approaches to guarantee the best quality of drinking water throughout the supply system.

Local action plan to promote access to the health system by indigenous Venezuelans from the Warao ethnic group in Manaus, Brazil: Analysis of the plan´s development, experiences, and impact through a mixed-methods study (2020).

BackgroundThe provision of care and monitoring of health are essential for indigenous Venezuelans from the Warao ethnic group, who are at risk of decimation.ObjectiveAnalyze a Local Action Plan (LAP) to promote access to the health system of indigenous Venezuelans from the Warao ethnic group (IVWEG) in Manaus, Brazil.MethodA mixed-methods study was performed. Quantitative data were collected to assess the provision of care and monitoring of health conditions in IVWEG through a survey that was self-completed by healthcare providers. Qualitative narrative data were collected to gain insight into IVWEG that seek care. We applied descriptive statistics, grouping analysis (GA) by hierarchical levels, and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Content analysis was applied to qualitative data.Results106 healthcare providers participated in the study, with the following characteristics: 94 (88.7%) females, 67 (63.2%) pardo race/color, 40 (37.7%) working in primary healthcare, and 49 (46.2%) nurses. In addition, 43 (40.6%) of the healthcare providers reported providing care to IVWEG. Among the providers, 89 (84%) had received training for assisting IVWEG. Additionally, 30 IVWEG were enrolled for interviews in the qualitative phase. The barriers to seeking care were language, distance to health units, and lack of money for transportation. The LAP proved to facilitate access to the health system by indigenous Venezuelans from the Warao ethnic group in Manaus. The study contributed to knowledge on a LAP addressed to IVWEG and helped improved their access to the health system, providing appropriate training for healthcare providers and other relevant actors by implementing a coherent and consistent public health policy at the local level.

Shaping the urban home garden: Socio-ecological forces in the management of private green spaces

Home gardens represent critical spaces in the configuration of socio-ecological landscapes and an increasing number of local and regional governments have begun including them within their resilience strategies, local biodiversity action plans, and food or health agendas. This paper contributes to the limited literature on contemporary home gardening in the Global North with a pilot study of Czech home gardens. This study aims to: (i) reveal what is the current role of the home garden and how the gardeners themselves perceive the care of their gardens; (ii) asses what is the potential of “scaling up” home gardens to address problems on a larger scale and how the gardeners understand the potential of their contribution to urban environment. This pilot study uses data collected during a questionnaire survey of 464 home gardens in different settlement types in Czechia. The results show that home gardens may provide important amenities for individual gardeners and their families, while at the same time contributing to both intended and unintended environmental consequences at the level of whole neighbourhoods or green space in general. The scaling up of home gardens in making cities more sustainable is possible and desirable, but a strategy for communication must involve both the top-down and bottom-up approaches and tools sensitive to a variety of diverse populations who tend home gardens.

Early warning systems (EWSs) for chikungunya, dengue, malaria, yellow fever, and Zika outbreaks: What is the evidence? A scoping review.

BackgroundEarly warning systems (EWSs) are of increasing importance in the context of outbreak-prone diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, malaria, yellow fever, and Zika. A scoping review has been undertaken for all 5 diseases to summarize existing evidence of EWS tools in terms of their structural and statistical designs, feasibility of integration and implementation into national surveillance programs, and the users’ perspective of their applications.MethodsData were extracted from Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Google Scholar, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), PubMed, Web of Science, and WHO Library Database (WHOLIS) databases until August 2019. Included were studies reporting on (a) experiences with existing EWS, including implemented tools; and (b) the development or implementation of EWS in a particular setting. No restrictions were applied regarding year of publication, language or geographical area.FindingsThrough the first screening, 11,710 documents for dengue, 2,757 for Zika, 2,706 for chikungunya, 24,611 for malaria, and 4,963 for yellow fever were identified. After applying the selection criteria, a total of 37 studies were included in this review. Key findings were the following: (1) a large number of studies showed the quality performance of their prediction models but except for dengue outbreaks, only few presented statistical prediction validity of EWS; (2) while entomological, epidemiological, and social media alarm indicators are potentially useful for outbreak warning, almost all studies focus primarily or exclusively on meteorological indicators, which tends to limit the prediction capacity; (3) no assessment of the integration of the EWS into a routine surveillance system could be found, and only few studies addressed the users’ perspective of the tool; (4) almost all EWS tools require highly skilled users with advanced statistics; and (5) spatial prediction remains a limitation with no tool currently able to map high transmission areas at small spatial level.ConclusionsIn view of the escalating infectious diseases as global threats, gaps and challenges are significantly present within the EWS applications. While some advanced EWS showed high prediction abilities, the scarcity of tool assessments in terms of integration into existing national surveillance systems as well as of the feasibility of transforming model outputs into local vector control or action plans tends to limit in most cases the support of countries in controlling disease outbreaks.

Assessing planning implementation using the conformance and performance approach: The case of Romania's local environmental action plans

Many of the outcomes of environmental plans are difficult to measure. Therefore, little is known as to whether such plans achieve their goals, whether outcomes are reached and lessons learned to influence future plans. Our study aims to address this gap by systematically evaluating the implementation of Local Environmental Action Plans (LEAPs) of 29 counties in Romania and the factors affecting it. We draw on both quantitative (official statistical data) and qualitative (planners’ assessments) evaluation methods and two conceptions of plan implementation success (conformance and performance based) to assess LEAP implementation. Our findings indicate mixed levels of conformance and performance. While the implementation of LEAPs conforms with the plans from the perspective of progress of overall policy implementation, this does not conform with the plans in terms of positive changes on the ground. LEAPs perform well in mitigating local environmental problems and coordinating with other planning initiatives but badly in terms of their usefulness in the decision-making process, having little influence on lower-level plans. Furthermore, the quality of LEAPs may not be important in relation to their implementation, while investments in the capacity of planning agencies, as well as local political support and participatory approaches, may improve the implementation of LEAPs in the future. The results of our study may assist the devising bodies in enhancing the implementation of future versions of LEAPs by revealing the main opportunities and constraints influencing implementation.

Towards the EU Green Deal: Local key factors to achieve ambitious 2030 climate targets

Cities representing more than one third of the EU population have already developed their mitigation action plans with the support of the Covenant of Mayors initiative. This study digs into the drivers leading European cities in setting ambitious GHG reduction targets by 2030. A total number of 246 local action plans, accepted in the Covenant of Mayors initiative, were evaluated, and ambitious municipalities (with reduction targets over 50%) were compared against those committing to regular targets (40–50%).Results show that the key factor enabling a higher climate ambition in cities is to develop local mitigation actions in line with the results of the baseline emission inventory, focusing on implementing actions in the most emitting sectors of activity. Furthermore, the study reveals the abilities of specific cities to set highly ambitious mitigation targets: to municipalise energy facilities increasing renewable energy production, and to be able of developing mitigation actions even tackling highly emitting sectors (e.g., transport) that traditionally are not under the competence of local governments.The study also shows other easy-to-reach solutions that every local authority can take into account to increase its ambition such as developing in-house action plans and conducting a deep stakeholder engagement and participatory processes from the initial stage of the action plan development.

A contingent diffusion model of local climate change policy adoption: Evidence from Southern California cities

Climate change policy is an essential driver of urban sustainability, yet minimal research has examined how they emerge and spread across cities in shared metropolitan areas. While policy diffusion or policy mobility theories could explain the aforesaid, much of the international scholarship have not utilized an amalgamation of these two complementary theoretical perspectives. As a result, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the regional dynamics and spillover effects local governments can generate for urban sustainability. This article proposes a contingent diffusion model to examine the intra-regional adoption of local climate action plans within Southern California from 2000 to 2018. We find that neighboring jurisdictions that adopt climate policy increase the likelihood of a home city's adoption. Yet, neighboring effect is contingent on the home city's existing pro-environmental policy propensity. However, in contrast to conventional wisdom, this study finds no evidence that local environmental advocacy groups play a crucial role in the diffusion of municipal climate initiatives. Altogether, the results suggest that a regional diffusion model of policy innovations is more likely successful when adaptive capacity is in place to facilitate green infrastructure. These findings provide implications for policymakers and planners who want to achieve successful spillovers of urban climate policies across local governments.

A Contingent Diffusion Model of Local Climate Change Policy Adoption: Evidence from Southern California Cities

Climate change policy is an essential driver of sustainability, yet minimal research has examined how they emerge and spread across cities in shared metropolitan areas. While policy diffusion or policy mobility theories could explain the aforesaid, much of the international scholarship have not utilized an amalgamation of these two complementary theoretical perspectives. As a result, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the regional dynamics and spillover effects local governments can generate for urban sustainability. This article proposes a contingent diffusion model to examine the intra-regional adoption of local climate action plans within Southern California from 2000 to 2018. We find that neighboring jurisdictions that adopt climate policy increase the likelihood of a home city’s adoption. Yet, neighboring effect is contingent on the home city’s existing pro-environmental policy propensity. In contrast to conventional wisdom, this study finds no evidence that local environmental advocacy groups play a crucial role in the diffusion of municipal climate initiatives. Altogether, the results suggest that a regional diffusion model of policy innovations is more likely successful when adaptive capacity is in place to facilitate green infrastructure. These findings provide implications for urban policymakers who want to achieve successful spillovers of urban climate policies across local governments.