Creating climate-proof cities typically comes with institutional barriers between public and private parties. Therefore, local governments are increasingly establishing local climate adaptation networks through which collective knowledge and action can be developed. We aim to understand how these networks can initiate institutional change that enables a climate-proof city. To this end, we theorize that boundary objects – either conceptual or material artifacts – that allow different groups to work together without consensus are important instruments of institutional work strategies that aim to change or disrupt established institutional structures. Our case study of Amsterdam Rainproof in the Netherlands, a frontrunner in urban climate networks, shows that shared concepts and models developed in city networks seem to primarily contribute to capacity building (generating interdisciplinary knowledge about a climate-proof city), agenda-setting (underscoring the urgency of climate adaptation), and the creation of new normative identities (climate adaptation as the joint responsibility of urban actors). Accordingly, boundary objects in the case study transform the cultural-cognitive and normative pillars of institutions, while the regulative pillar (enforcement and sanctioning) is more difficult to change. Altogether, our case study analysis suggests that local climate adaptation networks might not result in a climate-proof city in the short term but can provide a better breeding ground for climate-proofing cities in the long run.

创建耐气候城市通常会在公共和私人各方之间设置制度障碍。因此，地方政府越来越多地建立地方气候适应网络，通过这些网络可以发展集体知识和行动。我们的目标是了解这些网络如何引发制度变革，从而使城市能够抵御气候变化。为此，我们认为边界对象——无论是概念上的还是物质上的——允许不同的群体在没有达成共识的情况下一起工作，是旨在改变或破坏已建立的制度结构的制度工作战略的重要工具。我们对荷兰阿姆斯特丹 Rainproof 的案例研究，它是城市气候网络的领跑者，表明在城市网络中开发的共享概念和模型似乎主要有助于能力建设（产生关于气候防护城市的跨学科知识）、议程设置（强调气候适应的紧迫性）和新规范身份的创建（气候适应作为城市行为者的共同责任）。因此，案例研究中的边界对象改变了制度的文化认知和规范支柱，而监管支柱（执法和制裁）则更难改变。总而言之，我们的案例研究分析表明，当地的气候适应网络可能不会在短期内导致城市适应气候变化，但从长远来看可以为适应气候变化的城市提供更好的温床。