ABSTRACT

The search for mechanisms that can bolster sustainable development governance is underway. Bilateral city-to-city partnerships (C2C) have been put forward as platform through which cities can strengthen sustainable development in urban landscapes. Here, we critically examine claims about the capacity of these international cooperative arrangements, originally designed and deployed as development aid delivery mechanisms, to promote sustainable development. Our systematic examination of the extant literature on bilateral North-South C2C in Latin America fails to provide sufficient evidence that C2C can deliver on its promise to promote robust governance, both generally and in the specific context of sustainable development. Instead, it seems that C2C is more likely to support than challenge entrenched practices which can weaken sustainable development governance. Identifying these tendencies is a first step in formulating strategies that may enhance C2Cs and other transnational partnerships aimed at improving urban sustainable development in the Global South.

摘要

正在寻找能够支持可持续发展治理的机制。双边城市对城市伙伴关系 (C2C) 已被提出作为城市可以加强城市景观可持续发展的平台。在这里，我们批判性地审查了这些国际合作安排的能力，这些安排最初是作为发展援助交付机制设计和部署的，以促进可持续发展。我们对现有关于拉丁美洲双边南北 C2C 的文献的系统审查未能提供足够的证据表明 C2C 能够兑现其促进稳健治理的承诺，无论是在一般情况下还是在可持续发展的特定背景下。反而，似乎 C2C 更有可能支持而不是挑战可能削弱可持续发展治理的根深蒂固的做法。确定这些趋势是制定战略的第一步，这些战略可能会加强 C2C 和其他跨国合作伙伴关系，旨在改善全球南方的城市可持续发展。