Urban forest governance: towards a framework for comparing approaches

TY - JOUR

T1 - Urban forest governance

T2 - towards a framework for comparing approaches

AU - Lawrence, Anna

AU - De Vreese, Rik

AU - Johnston, Mark

AU - Konijnendijk, Cecil Cornelis

AU - Sanesi, Giovanni

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Research on urban forest governance is scarce, despite the current high level of interest in urban forestry. This paper addresses one of the main reasons for this scarcity - poor understanding of what governance is, and how it can be described. We propose a systematic approach to researching urban forest governance, based on a case study framework which provides a way to describe examples clearly, and to compare them robustly. The paper briefly reviews definitions and debates around governance, before using a descriptive definition as the basis for developing a framework. It then uses five examples from across Europe, to illustrate the use of the framework for describing urban forest governance. The analysis reflects on the experience of writing and sharing case studies, to distill out the framework as a research tool, and discusses issues arising from the application of the framework and the challenges of standardisation. The paper concludes with reflections on the role of this framework in stimulating comparisons while maintaining the flexibility to contribute to individual research needs and traditions.

AB - Research on urban forest governance is scarce, despite the current high level of interest in urban forestry. This paper addresses one of the main reasons for this scarcity - poor understanding of what governance is, and how it can be described. We propose a systematic approach to researching urban forest governance, based on a case study framework which provides a way to describe examples clearly, and to compare them robustly. The paper briefly reviews definitions and debates around governance, before using a descriptive definition as the basis for developing a framework. It then uses five examples from across Europe, to illustrate the use of the framework for describing urban forest governance. The analysis reflects on the experience of writing and sharing case studies, to distill out the framework as a research tool, and discusses issues arising from the application of the framework and the challenges of standardisation. The paper concludes with reflections on the role of this framework in stimulating comparisons while maintaining the flexibility to contribute to individual research needs and traditions.

U2 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2013.05.002

DO - 10.1016/j.ufug.2013.05.002

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1618-8667

VL - 12

SP - 464

EP - 473

JO - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

JF - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

IS - 4

ER -