Polycentric Governance of Urban Resilience: Translating Global Agendas into Local Action
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The translation of global agendas into local actions is a non-linear process of multilevel governance among a diverse set of actors. This article analyzes this process using urban resilience as a case study. It examines how concepts are theoretically formulated, politically negotiated, and operationalized in practice. Through a documentary analysis of theoretical frameworks on resilience (static vs. dynamic), the main global policy agendas (the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement), and implementation mechanisms at the urban scale (the New Urban Agenda and city networks), the relationships among this conceptualization, negotiation, and implementation across different levels of governance are explored. It is argued that, despite the inherent inconsistencies and tensions among the theoretical, political, and practical spheres, they functionally support one another, enabling the adaptation of global goals to local contexts. The analysis contrasts the top-down approach of the New Urban Agenda with the decentralized and bottom-up nature of city networks, positioning them as complementary mechanisms within a multilevel governance system. It concludes that the effectiveness of governance for resilience does not lie in the pursuit of conceptual unification, but rather in strengthening the interrelations and feedback among academia, policy, and practice, recognizing that managing their inherent tensions is essential for generating solutions with lasting impact that are appropriate to context.
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