Abstract
"The battle for sustainable development will almost certainly be decided in cities.... We need cities in good shape, wisely using their resources in an innovative and sustainable way, cities for all, for us today and for future generations." (1) Introduction I. The Internationalization of Cities A. The City and the Promise of Community B. Leaving the State Behind--The Forging of Local-International Relations 1. Decentralization--In Search of Democratization 2. Globalization, Subsidiarity and the City C. Privatization and the City D. Conclusion II. The Localization of Sustainable Development A. The Geography of Sustainable Development B. Short History of Local Sustainable Development--Local Agenda 21 C. Sustainable Development, Community and Public Participation III. The Convergence of Two Trends: Cities Embrace Sustainable Development A. Sustainable Development and the City B. Sustainable Cities? IV. Problems of the City-Sustainable Development Conjunction A. Privatization and the City B. Scales of Sustainable Development C. Equity and the Limits of Public Participation V. The Particular Case of Climate Change and Cities Conclusion INTRODUCTION In the past few years, two seemingly unrelated trends have combined to turn the "city" (2) into the privileged international locus of sustainable development: the internationalization of cities and the localization of sustainable development. In this Article, I explore the conjunction of these two trends and argue that while on the one hand, there is something attractive about the willing engagement of cities in addressing sustainable development (and climate change), there are also inherent dangers in allowing the cities to take on the primary function of defining sustainable development. In a series of articles published in 2006, legal scholars David Barron, Yishai Blank, and Gerald Frug identified and theorized a new phenomenon: the emergence of cities and transnational associations of cities as a new type of actor on the international stage. (3) As these authors have shown, cities, pursuing greater autonomy from the state, have sought in a variety of ways to become active players on the international stage. One strategy they have pursued is to band together to form international "non-governmental" organizations such as United Cities and Local Governments ("UCLG"), (4) in order to gain visibility and voice in a variety of international fora. Basing their arguments on the democratic potential of cities and on the claim that city government is the level of government closest to the people and therefore most responsive to their needs, such groups have advocated for greater decentralization and autonomy for cities. (5) The cities' assertion of the desirability of greater autonomy has been well received by the international community, (6) which has embraced the city as an alternative interlocutor to the state. Together, cities and international organizations have promoted adoption of the principle of subsidiarity, borrowed from its European context, while, in parallel they have sought to encourage the funneling of international resources, including foreign direct investment, directly to cities, both of which tend to empower the city vis-a-vis the state. (7) Because cities, unlike traditional non-governmental organizations ("NGOs"), are able to lay claim to representative legitimacy, they have emerged as a favored actor within the umbrella of international civil society representatives. (8) Paradoxically, however, in the new world order, cities--despite their democratic credentials--are increasingly losing their strong public government function as traditional public services are privatized and cities begin to resemble private corporations. (9) As cities seek greater autonomy from the state and more visibility on the international stage, they have perhaps unwittingly become a key conduit for the modern trend away from "government" towards "governance;" (10) a movement strongly encouraged by international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, (11) and one that places them in an ideal position on the stage of sustainable development. …