Modern political economy, global environmental change and urban sustainability transitions

• Published in: Current opinion in environmental sustainability 2016-10, Vol.22, p.63-68
• Main Authors: Fragkias, Michail, Boone, Christopher G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1877-3435; 1877-3443
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cosust.2017.04.007

•Modern political economy can frame urban transitions to sustainability and global environmental change.•The choice of urban institutions for urban transitions requires a comprehensive assessment of uncertainties inherent to decision-making.•Transitions can be complicated by self-referential adaptation and reformation mechanisms inherent in institutions.•Good urban governance depends on the capacities of a nexus of actors as well as their willingness to engage in participatory processes. 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.