Urban Sustainability as a New Form of Governance: Obstacles and Potentials in the Case of Vienna 1

Abstract

Organizational changes within the Viennese political-administrative system in line with the ideals of 'new urban governance' can partly be interpreted as a result of the emergence of cross-sectional topics such as urban sustainability and climate protection. Nevertheless, in Vienna the 'traditional' form of governance is still persistent, embedded in a Fordist economic model, in which the state and corporatist institutions play an important role. Starting from a theoretical discussion of the differences between the concepts of 'government', 'governance', 'New Public Management' and 'urban sustainability', the analysis of two case studies reveals obstacles and potentials for the establishment of new governance structures. The case studies concentrate on the analysis of a Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) process and the implementation of the Vienna Climate Protection Programme, both representing efforts to reach the goals of urban sustainability. The description of political and administrative features of the city of Vienna additionally sheds some light on possible hindering and promoting aspects for the formation of new governance structures.