In the last thirty years European local authorities have played a pro-active role in the realm of sustainable development, participating into European projects and establishing municipal networks. The latter may focus on specific environmental issues or include sustainable development in a wide range of policy priorities.
To date, these socio-ecological municipal networks have received little academic attention. The bulk of the literature is located within geography and urban studies, and the focus is on the structure of the networks, the process of decision-making, and the policy outcomes. Within this debate, the contribution of political science has been scant, and the political and economic motivations underpinning cities’ engagement in European socio-ecological municipal networks have been overlooked.
Drawing on comparative case studies of six European cities engaged in European socio-ecological networks, this paper will show that cities’ European commitment to sustainable development is part of a broad strategy to achieve urban regeneration.
