The drive to sustainability: A way in which local initiatives diffuse internationally

Abstract

This article examines how local initiatives can gain international visibility and recognition as well as how they can diffuse to other cities. It explores the leadership of the mayors of Bogotá, Stockholm, and Portland, but also how there were specific contexts that favored the transformations of these cities. The work uses Finnemore and Sikkink's norm “life cycle” and Gilardi's diffusion models to explain how local initiatives and policies were promoted using the C40 network as a platform to diffuse practices on climate action and sustainable development. The research undertaken points to a similar pattern through which local policies get international resonance: after initial leadership arises at the local level to promote local policies, international visibility is gained through the winning of awards and the promotion of such policies within the C40. Learning, emulation, and competition are identified as mechanisms through which diffusion occurs.