Engaging the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 in strategic governance of “Europe’s most sustainable city”
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A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
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Date
2024
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Language
en
Pages
16
1-16
1-16
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International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, Volume 16, issue 1
Abstract
In the face of the climate crisis, cities have committed to ambitious sustainability targets. The UN Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a globally shared language for decision-makers and policymakers regarding their sustainability objectives. Espoo, Finland’s second-largest city, has become a pioneer in implementing the Agenda, not least due to its recent nomination as ‘Europe’s most sustainable city’. This article investigates the use of the Agenda in strategic governance in Espoo with the aim to identify challenges and opportunities of SDG localisation. Although the Agenda has affected many aspects of policymaking in Espoo and ambitions have been high to shine as an SDG pioneer, a systematic integration of sustainability concerns into policymaking is not yet achieved. Moreover, there is a need to question the reliance of the Agenda framework on the ecological modernisation paradigm, which does not see economic growth and ecological sustainability at odds.Description
Funding Information: This work was supported by the Academy of Finland [338335]. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
Ecological modernisation, Espoo, limits to growth, local government, SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities, SDG localisation, sustainability, sustainable development goals
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Citation
Halko, A, Mäntysalo, R & Purkarthofer, E 2024, ' Engaging the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 in strategic governance of “Europe’s most sustainable city” ', International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1-16 . https://doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2023.2295324