| dc.description.abstract | The effects of urbanisation and climate change have increased the focus of urban policymakers on sustainability. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly implemented as a means to achieve sustainability, through their versatility and provision of services to urban inhabitants. One way of implementing NBS is through urban green spaces such as parks and street trees, which can be adapted to their surroundings and benefit actors in the surrounding areas. From among these actors, the involvement of citizens can particularly benefit urban green spaces through the governance form of community-led initiatives (CLI). Such initiatives are both initiated and governed by citizens who decide upon its goals, resource use and activities. They are not independent, as municipalities interact with green space CLIs in various ways and thereby affect their success. However, current literature mainly focuses on municipal facilitation rather than mutual interaction, and uses case studies from large municipalities. Therefore, this thesis asks the question: How, why, and with what implications do municipalities enable and constrain urban green space CLIs through their interaction?
This research question is examined using an analytical framework adapted from the Policy Arrangement Approach by Arts et al. (2006) combined with literature concerning interaction of municipalities with NBS and CLI. Data was collected from the Dutch municipalities of Culemborg and Wageningen, with green space CLIs selected on contrasting green spaces and activities, to map diverse interaction dynamics. The research uses a case study approach with data from interviews and documentation, coded according to the framework.
This research found that municipalities and green space CLIs interact through the reflexive provision of resources and rules, with municipal employees working as boundary spanners to translate and navigate between actors. Formalization to obtain resources, emphasis on policy uses of CLI, and the importance of steady points of contact are acknowledged by both actors. The presence of municipal employees or other coordinating individuals enables reflexive collaboration and accommodation for both actors. The research shows that while resources provided by public actors and within green space CLIs are important, reflexivity is a key dimension for interaction by smoothing over existing obstacles within the policy landscape. While the research focuses on municipalities, other public actors are revealed to be important through their various responsibilities and capacities as they take on a similar role for green space CLIs in the absence of municipal involvement. | |
