An institutional perspective on integrating climate and societal challenges in urban areas

Urban areas face a range of climate-related challenges, such as enhancing sustainable energy supply and climate adaptation, as well as increasing biodiversity and tackling socio-economic issues. Managing these challenges in an integrative way is advocated in literature and practice. Yet, how institutional factors hinder or facilitate integration is poorly understood. Comparing evidence from four urban cases in the Netherlands, this study aims to provide an improved understanding of the modes of and factors influencing integration at the operational level of projects managing climate and societal challenges. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework as conceptual basis, we examined how external variables and rules within action situations influence cross-sectoral integration. In the studied cases, we recognized three modes of integration: 1) no integration in process and outcome; 2) ambiguous understanding of integration where the perception of integrative process and outcome diverged among involved actors; 3) integrative process and outcomes. The analysis illustrated that cross-sectoral integration can be supported by diverse external variables, such as integrative policies. It moreover showed that the rules within action situations need to be reconfigured from sectoral to across sectors to achieve an integrative action situation. This includes sharing responsibilities, exchanging information, or developing a business model across sectors. A key recommendation for this reconfiguration is to first define a mutual objective and level of integration, and then modify process-related factors towards a cross-sectoral way of operating.