Urban Policy Mobilities and Governance Dynamics
Summary
Urban policy mobilities encompass the processes through which ideas, programmes and governance models circulate across cities and regions, driven by networks of practitioners, consultants and digital platforms. These mobilities intersect with governance dynamics, referring to the evolving relationships among public authorities, private actors and civil society in shaping policy experiments and urban transformation. This field examines how translocal policy forms are translated, adapted or resisted in diverse contexts, highlighting the role of material infrastructures, discursive frames and institutional legacies. Key concerns include the digitalisation of policy exchange, the co-production of expertise by global elites and local stakeholders, and the temporal rhythms of adoption, repetition and delay. Research has revealed both the promise of enhanced urban learning and the perils of de-contextualised transfer, showing how governance arrangements mediate equity, sustainability and citizen participation. Comparative studies demonstrate that effective policy mobility depends on inclusive knowledge networks, sensitivity to place-specific constraints and reflexive governance strategies that reconcile global imaginaries with local priorities.
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Urban Policy Mobilities and Governance Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in urban policy mobilities and governance dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Policy mobilities: The transnational movement, translation and adaptation of policy ideas and practices across urban contexts.
Governance dynamics: The shifting interactions among governmental bodies, private entities and civil society in policy development and implementation.
Informational infrastructures: Digital and material systems that enable the collection, exchange and analysis of policy-relevant data across cities.
Policy boosterism: Strategic promotion of locally generated policies to external audiences as part of urban branding and competitiveness efforts.
References
- Policy mobilities, ‘informational infrastructures’ and the ‘digital turn’: Towards a research agenda. Geography Compass (2024).
- Policy Boosterism, Policy Mobilities, and the Extrospective City. Urban Geography (2013).
- Multiple Temporalities of Policy Circulation: Gradual, Repetitive and Delayed Processes of BRT Adoption in South African Cities. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (2015).
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