Climate action, finance, and justice in small and midsize cities in the USA

这个项目考察了美国中小城市的气候行动。气候政策和项目的好处和成本对居民的影响是不同的。这个项目促进了人们对中小城市正在采取什么行动减缓气候变化、它们如何为这些行动买单，以及对正义的担忧是否以及如何影响政策制定的了解。该项目确定了战略中的常见做法、挑战和创新，以资助城市气候行动并促进城市气候政策和计划的公平。城市政府、气候行动网络、以社区为基础的组织以及对城市气候行动感兴趣的公众都对这些信息感兴趣。此外，该项目还为本科生、研究生和博士后研究员提供教育和培训机会。它还支持开发关于混合方法研究和城市气候治理的教材。二十多年来，城市一直是气候行动的重要地点。学者和实践者指出，有必要了解气候计划和政策在当地是如何发挥作用的。虽然大多数传统研究集中在大城市，但该项目调查了气候行动在中小城市的实施、资金和融资以及司法政治。研究人员回答了关于气候行动的三组问题：(1)中小城市采取了哪些行动来实施气候行动政策和计划，以及他们如何解决这些努力中对公正和公平的担忧？(2)中小城市如何为气候行动买单，这种融资如何影响气候政策和计划的实施？(3)对公平和公正的担忧如何在关于中小城市气候行动的辩论和决定中发挥作用？为此，调查人员对美国250个中小城市的市政工作人员进行了调查；收集和分析了城市预算、资本支出报告和其他财务文件；并对城市绿化和建筑性能标准这两种气候缓解措施的实施进行了深入的比较案例研究。在与大城市气候行动的现有文献对话中，研究结果支持对与美国所有规模的城市相关的城市气候行动和正义的更复杂和更有力的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines climate action in small and midsize cities in the United States (US). Climate policies and programs have benefits and costs that impact residents differently. This project advances knowledge about what small and midsize cities are doing to slow climate change, how they are paying for those actions, and if and how concerns about justice influence policy development. The project identifies common practices, challenges, and innovations in strategies to finance urban climate action and promote equity in urban climate policies and programs. This information is of interest to city governments, climate action networks, community-based organizations, and members of the general public interested in urban climate action. In addition, the project provides educational and training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, and a postdoctoral researcher. It also supports the development of teaching materials on mixed-methods research and urban climate governance.Cities have been important sites of climate action for more than two decades. Scholars and practitioners have pointed to the need to understand how climate plans and policies play out on the ground. While most conventional studies focused on big cities, this project investigates the implementation, funding and financing, and justice politics of climate action in small and midsize cities. The investigators address three sets of questions about climate action: (1) What actions are small and midsize cities taking to implement climate action policies and programs, and how do they address concerns about justice and equity in these efforts? (2) How are small and midsize cities paying for climate action, and how does that financing influence what climate policies and programs are implemented? (3) How do concerns about justice and equity come into play in debates and decisions about climate action in small and midsize cities? To do so, the investigators survey city staff in 250 small and midsize cities across the US; collect and analyze city budgets, capital expenditure reports, and other financial documents; and conduct in-depth comparative case studies of the implementation of two climate mitigation practices, urban greening, and building performance standards. In conversation with the existing literature on climate action in large cities, the research findings support a more complex and robust understanding of urban climate action and justice relevant to US cities of all sizes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.