Activities Of Local Authorities Research Articles

Exploring citizen infrastructure and environmental priorities in Mumbai, India

Many cities worldwide seek to understand local policy priorities among their general populations. This study explores how differences in local conditions and among citizens within and across Mumbai, India shape local infrastructure (e.g. energy, water, transport) and environmental (e.g. managing pollution, climate-related extreme weather events) policy priorities for change that may or may not be aligned with local government action or global environmental sustainability concerns such as low-carbon development. In this rapidly urbanizing city, multiple issues compete for prominence, ranging from improved management of pollution and extreme weather to energy and other infrastructure services. To inform a broader perspective of policy priorities for urban development and risk mitigation, a survey was conducted among over 1200 citizens. The survey explored the state of local conditions, the challenges citizens face, and the ways in which differences in local conditions (socio-institutional, infrastructure, and health-related) demonstrate inequities and influence how citizens perceive risks and rank priorities for the future design and implementation of local planning, policy, and community-based efforts. With growing discussion and tensions surrounding the new urban sustainable development goal, announced by the UN in late September 2015, and a new global urban agenda document to be agreed upon at ‘Habitat III’, issues on whether sustainable urbanization priorities should be set at the international, national or local level remain controversial. As such, this study aims to first understand determinants of and variations in local priorities across one city, with implications discussed for local-to-global urban sustainability. Findings from survey results indicate the determinants and variation in conditions such as age, assets, levels of participation in residential action groups, the health outcome of chronic asthma, and the infrastructure service of piped water provision to homes are significant in shaping the top infrastructure and environmental policy priorities that include water supply and sanitation, air pollution, waste, and extreme heat.

Multilevel Analysis of Municipal Officials’ Participation in Land Use Policies Supportive of Active Living

To investigate individual- and city-level factors associated with municipal officials' participation in a local land use policy that supports active living. Cross-sectional study. Eighty-three cities in eight states. Four hundred thirteen elected and appointed officials with various job functions including mayors, city councilors, aldermen, selectmen, city or town managers, and heads of departments of planning, community development, public works, transportation, engineering, parks and recreation, neighborhood services, and public health. A Web-based survey assessed perceived importance of physical activity and livability issues to job responsibilities; perceived resident support of local government action to address physical activity and livability issues; and residence. City-level factors obtained from Census data included percentage of commuters by walking, bicycling, and public transit. The dependent variable was self-reported participation in developing, adopting, or implementing a local land use policy supportive of active living. Hierarchical (two-level: municipal official-city) logistic regression model, using R. Municipal officials living in the city where they worked were significantly more likely to be involved in a land use policy. Higher perceived importance of livability issues was associated with participation. Perceived importance of physical activity was inversely associated with land use policy involvement. Higher city-level bicycling rates resulted in increased odds of participation in a land use policy. City-level walking rates were inversely associated with land use policy participation. Municipal officials who worked in cities with a higher proportion of bicycle commuters, who prioritized livability issues, and who resided in the city where they worked were more likely to engage in land use policies supportive of active living.

Implementing Local Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Actions: The Role of Various Policy Instruments in a Multi-Level Governance Context

Recently, considerable focus, e.g., in the fifth IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Assessment Report (2014) has been trained on why adaptation and mitigation have not been developed more than at present, with relatively few local government actions taken compared with, for example, more discursive policy agreement on the importance of the issue of climate change. Going beyond a focus on general limits and barriers, this comment suggests that one important issue is that climate change has not yet been sufficiently integrated into the state regulative structure of legislation and policy-making. A comparison between three cases suggests that local developments that are not supported in particular by binding regulation are unlikely to achieve the same general level of implementation as issues for which such regulative demands (and thereby also requirements for prioritization) exist. This constitutes an important consideration for the development of adaptation and mitigation as policy areas, including on the local level.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ROLE IN THE SOLVING OF CATCHING FISH ILLEGALLY IN ACEH REGION

This study aimed to describe the shape of local government actions in tackling illegal fishing in Aceh, the handling of illegal fishing destructive fishery resources. The fundamental point is Law No. 45 Year 2009 concerning fisheries. This spesification of this research descriptive analysis, used both normative juridical approach and empirical. The results showed that the local government has made an effort preventive and repressive in the case of illegal fishing. To coordinate with relevant agencies and empower the role of traditional institutions of the sea to assist the role of government and law enforcement.Local governments should improve the coordination and supervision of the marine area, to monitor and evaluate the performance of local authorities in applying the law against this illegal fishing case.Keywords: Illegal, Local Government, and Fishing.

Советская антиалкогольная политика 1980-х гг. (На материалах Челябинской области)

The problem of consumption of alcoholic drinks is actual now. In this article the regional option of realization of campaign for fight against alcoholism and alcoholism in Chelyabinsk region in the 1980th is analyzed. The legislation on restriction of the state turnover of alcohol is considered. In article it is noted that, alcoholism represented a serious problem for the Soviet society and the state, causing damage to health of the population, a family, society in general. But a state policy, actions of local authorities had no serious positive results. The author has come to a conclusion that the pursued antialcoholic policy was inefficient, and had ambiguous consequences.

Planning Short-Stay ‘Weekend Breaks’ Based on the Cultural, Natural And Social Resources of the Small Town

The paper examines the way that place with a specific identity and cultural atmosphere could beused as the promotion of the site and creation the popular short-stay tourist destination. The authors briefly explained the theoretical background, concepts, marketing methodologies and effects of coordination between local government actions and tourism industry promotion. On the example of case study in Podkowa Leśna, it illustrates different activities and different issues involved, identified important determinants. Emphasizing a smart, sustainable approach, it shows how cultural tourism and culture events could be used to promote a town successfully. It shows how the local authority’s policy, the private – public cooperation, the NGOs involvement, institutional structures and volunteer’s enthusiasm could create a high standard of cultural offer and tourist – friendly host site. It also shows how, on the example of garden – city Podkowa Leśna, an effective management and innovative strategy could provide long term success based on cultural and social resources. In their final conclusion remarks the authors examine the relationship of cultural events and tourism growths (short-stay, ‘weekend break’ visits). Cultural heritage, organized sport and cultural events together with the natural values are identified as the vital determinants for the high quality experience of visitors in this destination site. The non answered question remains, if culture in future – in a broad sense of tangible and intangible forms – could be also used in the rapidly changing world for successful promotion, for sustainable development, for social and cultural harmony and economic growth. The other question to be considered in the future research study is the limit of tourism development growth at the site of high cultural and natural values, very special social atmosphere and site tradition.

Government Influences, Emotions, and the Investment Decisions of South African Property Fund Managers

Efficient investment decision-making is a function of a free and efficient market. Government interference may distort such efficient markets and subsequent investment decision-making. We investigate the role of emotions in property fund managers' decisions and the extent of the influence of government actions on these decisions. The results show that property fund managers perceive the influence of national and local government actions on their investment decisions as negative with a feeling of regret towards these investment decisions made. It also shows the volatility of the South African property fund decision-making environment and its associated difficulties.

On the Right of the Citizens and the Public Prosecutor to Challenge the Decisions, Actions (Inaction) of State Authorities, Local Governments and Officials in Court

The article is devoted tо the study of normative development and contemporary legal regulation of challenging decisions, actions (inaction) of state authorities and officials for citizens and the Prosecutor to protect their rights. The study of scientific approaches and legal framework рroposed a definition of the term "challenging the decisions, actions (inaction) of bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government and officials in court".

The Role of Cruising Tourism in Tourism Development of Split

The city of Split is increasingly showing its cruising valorisation opportunities thanks to its geocommunication position, harbour infrastructure, cultural and historic heritage and the diversity of its tourism supply. Cruising tourism, as a form of modern tourism receives characteristics of strong element of tourism development in certain tourist destination. City of Split, along with some other ports in the Mediterranean, base its development opportunity also on the development of cruising tourism. It is known that cruising tourism has a positive effect on economic growth, image and development of tourist destination, while disadvantages of cruising are its’ impact on local residents, stationary tourists and environment. The increase in both the number of cruise liner arrivals and tourists visiting a particular port creates the presumptions for the development of special forms of tourism supply and for its valorisation outside the main tourist season. Investing in new reception facilities in port aquatorium of the city of Split creates new possibilities for acceptance of ships with greater capacity. This creates new opportunities for increasing of cruise ships arrivals and increasing of tourist visits of Split tourist destination. Joint actions of local authorities and all operators of tourism offer can contribute so that Split tourist destination becomes recognizable as an international destination of cruising tourism. The main goal of this paper is to show the impact of cruising tourism on the improvement of brand image of Split and impact on prolongation of tourism season of Split tourist destination. This paper particularly evaluates the contribution and impact of cruise tourism in the overall development of tourism and the positive economic effects of tourism on the city of Split.

Toxic Elements and Microbiological Content of Food: Evidence from a Case Study in a Brazilian City Heavily Contaminated by Lead and Cadmium

Food security has become a major concern of the world population and this is even more prominence in polluted areas. This study aimed to evaluate microbiological and toxic elements content of local food itens from Santo Amaro, Bahia. The determination of lead, cadmium, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliform were carried out in coriander, cassava, okra, chicken muscle/liver, fish muscle and eggs. The population of total coliform and E. coli were estimated by the express count method using plates EC (AOAC 991.14) and accounting of colonies by colony counter. For toxic elements determination samples were digested using HNO3 and H2O2 following EPA 200.3 using a digester block with cold fingers. The determination of lead and cadmium was performed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometery (ICP OES). The mean total coliform has ranged from < 1 to 4.5 log CFU g-1. Coriander presented higher mean total coliform (4.5 log CFU g-1) and E. coli was higher than recommended levels. The range of toxic elements revealed higher concentrations of lead in chicken muscle (1.25-11.58 mg kg-1) and cadmium in eggs (0.45-1.06 mg kg-1). Finally, the risk to the inhabitants of Santo Amaro was evident and reinforces the importance of effective actions of local authorities.

English

Civil society role is often seen as less powerful agent in forming or maintaining good governance than two dominant agents (state and private actors). This research is intended to have knowledge whether civil society can play important roles in forming and maintaining local good governance in Surakarta City, Indonesia. The civil society (both formally and informally associations or persons) in Surakarta city plays very pivotal roles in six sustainable elements, namely (1) by influencing policy analysis and advocacy; (2) by controlling regulations; (3) by monitoring local government actions and behavior of staff officials; (4) by enabling citizens to identify and articulate their values, beliefs, civic norms and democratic practices; (5) by mobilizing vulnerable and marginalized masses to participate more fully in politics and public affairs and finally (6) by establishing participatory development work to improve their own better life. Interestingly, there are two new factors found in the research in determining the success of sustainability of local good governance practices in Surakarta, namely informal networking or communication and spirit of togetherness. The existence of civil society (especially the informal one) in Surakarta City is a strong pillar for sustainable local good governance practices. Maintaining this strong civil society role will make it possible to guarantee the future of the good governance in Surakarta City, Indonesia.

Understanding resident city brand disengagement

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors underlying residents’ lack of involvement and engagement with their city brand. This paper addresses the gap in understanding residents’ disengagement from their city brand.Design/methodology/approach– In-depth interviews with 14 residents of Dunedin City, New Zealand, were conducted to identify and understand the factors that underlie residents’ disengagement from their city brand. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.Findings– Four major themes or factors that influence residents’ disengagement were identified: lack of brand awareness/knowledge; lack of brand identification; disapproval of local government actions; and cynical attitudes towards involvement.Research limitations/implications– This paper focuses on one city brand, with its unique history and institutional context, and the thoughts and experiences of a limited group of residents, thus limiting the applicability of the findings. A longitudinal study would be helpful to identify if residents’ engagement with their place brand change over time and the underlying reasons for such changes.Practical implications– Extant research highlights the importance of a participatory, co-creative process between citizens and local governments for building city brands. Despite this, this study’s findings demonstrate that there might be several formidable barriers to resident participation in their city’s branding process.Originality/value– This paper represents a first step in understanding what might trigger or contribute to residents becoming disengaged from their city’s brand. Therefore, this paper considers the “hidden voices” of residents who have become largely disconnected from the city brand.

Red states, green laws: Ideology and renewable energy legislation in the United States

We develop a novel, mixed methods approach to examine the relationship between political ideology and support for renewable energy and energy efficiency (REEE) policies. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with state-government legislators in the U.S., we show that when legislators evaluate and justify their support for and opposition to different types of renewable energy and energy efficiency (REEE) policies, they distinguish bills based on frames that are related to ideological differences (e.g., tax decreases, government efficiency, regulation, mandates, government spending). In turn the qualitative distinctions among bills are associated with quantitative differences in levels of support and success for the policies. Using data from a longitudinal analysis of 188 major state-government laws passed from 2004 to 2014 and a cross-sectional set of 709 passed and unpassed laws from 2011 to 2012, we show that REEE policies configured as mandates (e.g., renewable portfolio standards) have consistently lower levels of support than for similar REEE policies configured as tax reductions, reduction of government waste by increasing building efficiency, authorization of local government action, and regulatory reduction. Thus, via both quantitative and qualitative analysis, we show that there are important ideology-associated differences in REEE policy that point to opportunities for more successful policy design.

Is it the twilight of decentralization? Testing the limits of functional reforms in the era of austerity

Economic crisis and rigid austerity seem to have brought a long-lasting period of decentralization to an end. The comeback of centralist patterns offers the rapid implementation of austerity measures, while the lack of resources is challenging the sustainability of decentralized services. There is an obvious inconsistency between European decentralization policies, on the one side, and European austerity policies, on the other. Empirical evidence shows that local authorities were more responsive to citizens’ demands for social services, but now municipalities without resources repulse decentralization. In spite of centralist patterns, case studies of fiscal consolidation have revealed a remarkable deviation of municipal responses to top-down fiscal policies. Visionary leadership, active citizenry and inclusive decision-making processes predict good performance, while reproductive leadership and a passive citizenry predetermine unproductive central–local conflicts over burden-sharing and blame-shifting. Points for practitioners Our results show that both decentralization and centralization policies are highly dependent on the attitudes and actions of local authorities. In the case of social services, the responsiveness of local authorities brings obvious performance gains. Attempts at burden-shifting to municipalities in times of crisis will, however, most probably face blockades. In the case of austerity policies, top-down unitary strategies with rigid norms and mechanisms cannot rule out performance disparities among the addressees of these policies. The responsiveness of municipalities is highly dependent on local leadership, actors’ constellations and the attributes of the community involved. In case of functional reforms, the prior consultation and ongoing assistance of local authorities and involved communities should be a standard practice.

Local authorities as niche actors: the case of energy governance in the UK

Local level decision-making can provide a vital and practicable means through which to deliver carbon reductions at individual, household and community levels. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges associated with the role of local government action in delivering a resilient, low carbon future. Drawing on qualitative data gathered through interviews with six case study local authorities in the UK, the paper examines in particular the ways in which they have tried to address energy and environmental goals in their areas of jurisdiction. The principles of Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) are employed to provide fresh insights on the potential for local government to encourage ‘niche’ level influences on economic, technological and social/behavioural innovation. In doing so, we identify the enabling factors and drivers that have given rise to success in linking microlevel goals with existing macro-level objectives, as well as highlighting some of the persistent obstacles that continue to hamper progress.

The Medieval Law Merchant: The Tyranny of a Construct

The story of a medieval law merchant has a strong hold on scholars interested in private ordering. Despite numerous historical works demonstrating the falsity of the myth, it continues to be discussed regularly in scholarship as if it were an accurate portrayal of the past. This article tests the law merchant story against evidence about the mechanisms of medieval trade. It suggests that medieval commerce had little space for a specialized law, and that merchants had little need for it because of both the well-developed trading infrastructure and the actions of local governments to ensure the protection of legal rights. Everyone knows that feudalism provided the social and economic structure for Europe during the period from roughly the 9th to the 11th centuries. We learned in school about fiefs and vassals and homage. Serious historians have written books explaining and describing feudalism. We see references, both historical and modern, to feudalism. Therefore, it must have existed.

Theorising European Integration of Local Government – Insights from the Fusion Approach

The article explores a new, dynamic conceptual framework to understand the relations between local government and the European Union (EU). It argues that, first, the fusion approach explains the systemic linkages between European integration and corresponding change within cities, counties and municipalities. Secondly, fusion dynamics are slowly emerging across European and local levels, whereby competencies and resources are merging and policies become synchronised under Europe 2020 and the European Cohesion Policy. Thirdly, the fusion approach provides an understanding of the attitudes of local actors towards European integration. In order to show the relevance of fusion, the article presents the findings of five empirical indicators: the absorption of EU policies and legislation; attention towards EU policies; institutional adaptation; EU-related action of local government and attitudes towards European integration. It also compares local government in two contrasting regions with regard to their political autonomy – North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and the North West of England.

A back to the city movement by local government action: gentrification in Spain and Latin America

Studies on gentrification in Spain and Latin America have been proliferating rapidly in recent years. It has provoked debates on the applicability of the concept and the particular characteristics that the process takes. In this context, the study looks at the transformation of city centres in Spain and Latin America through various case studies in which the use of the concept of gentrification is advocated, while drawing attention to the notable differences in the urban, social and economic spheres between these cases and the ones studied in English-speaking countries. Specifically, a key feature is claimed to be the primacy of state intervention as a catalyst of the process, so that gentrification in this region can be understood as a return to the city of local government action.

Testing the Boundaries of Subnational Diplomacy: The International Climate Action of Local and Regional Governments

AbstractSince the 1990s, a number of local and regional governments around the world have started to engage in a real international or ‘paradiplomatic’ climate agenda. While the multilevel governance approach has advanced the examination of the actors and levels involved in climate governance, there is within this body of literature a limited consideration of the legal capacity of non-state actors to act across scales. This article addresses this gap and examines the potential limitations imposed on subnational diplomacy by international and domestic legal orders. The article draws upon the example of Brazil where, despite constitutional limitations on the involvement of subnational governments in international relations, paradiplomacy has been termed ‘federative diplomacy’ and institutionalized within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and within the Presidency of the Republic. The article shows that the diplomatic activity of local and regional governments is still constrained by international and domestic legal frameworks. If cities and regions are to help in addressing the inadequacies of the international climate regime, then domestic and international legal frameworks will need to further accommodate subnational diplomatic activities.

A gestão sustentável dos resíduos sólidos em Caxias do Sul - RS

This research aimed to understand the social, economic and environmental reality of agents that compose associations recyclers Caxias do Sul/RS, addressing the issue of solid waste management and the casualization of labor in the region. The study aimed to recover and analyze environmental problems caused by waste, to alert the need to seek ways to mitigate these impacts, looking for solid waste recycling as an environmental alternative. For the development of research adopted the method of case study with historical-structural approach and collection of ad hoc information on recycling unit. From the collected and contextualized information about recycling units in the city of Caxias do Sul/RS, infer are possible alternatives to these drives to achieve the best potential for employment and income, also including considerations that may assist organizations through social actions of local government in order to address issues arising from this theme.