Local Government Decision Making on Urban Development: A Case study of the City of Utrecht, The Netherlands (original) (raw)

This paper looks at the increasing role of cities in driving sustainable development. Already half of the world's population lives in cities and by 2050 this is expected to rise to 70%. Cities also have a greater potential to take action in sustainable development, not only because of the concentration of economic activities near cities, but also due to the possibilities that arise due to a higher population concentration. The United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (hereafter referred to as, SDG's) that followed from the summit has seen the development of a stand-alone urban goal, rather than urban challenges forming part of other sectorial goals and targets. The urban goal relates to cities and communities to ensure that cities and human settlements are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This study is aiming at understanding policy decision-making processes and understanding the challenges of implementation. The case study of the City of Utrecht, The Netherlands looks particularly at economic and social growth and Utrecht's learning by doing approach to it. In particularly, how Utrecht deals with decision-making processes around creating new policies, strategies and programs. This paper will look at the different factors that play a role for Utrecht to decide upon while developing urban strategies.