Cities, Climate Networks, and Racial Equity

• In Event: Interest Groups and Public Policy

Abstract

City climate networks have emerged as a significant aspect of climate action in the United States, with motivations ranging from information sharing to political signal. While the literature on city climate networks has been growing, there is a notable gap in understanding how member cities engage with other critical issues, particularly racial equity. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the interaction of climate action and racial equity initiatives. Based on a descriptive investigation of climate networks using the social network techniques, this study investigates how cities collaborate and form networks to address climate change and analyzes what city characteristics are associated with the relative power of cities within climate networks. Moreover, this study discusses how cities that are committed to climate actions are also taking part in racial equity by exploring the co-membership status in both climate and racial equity networks. Findings show that cities that are co-members of both issue networks and that are categorized as highly central cities within climate networks are mostly led by Democratic mayors.

Author

• Ahyoung Cho, St. Lawrence University