The Connection Between States and Community-Level Sustainability Actions

States and their localities frequently work together within intergovernmental support systems to promote energy efficiency within urban communities. These endeavors often come in the form of legislative actions that provide policy direction or financial support for municipalities to promote and enforce state directives. However, much of our understanding regarding these relationships has been brought within the context of the development sectors, with little emphasis on community-level outcomes.  To understand the importance of state interventions for municipal commitments to community-level sustainability policies, we must place a special emphasis on programs designed to promote locally driven sustainability.

My article in Urban Affairs Review, entitled, “State-Level Influences on Community-Level Municipal Sustainable Energy Policies,” examines how state governments facilitate municipal sustainability programs designed to promote energy efficiency among local consumers. Specifically, it studies how state fiscal support and policy standards influence municipal choices to use incentivized energy efficiency policy tools. Using ICMA data, this study analyzes the policy choices of over 1,600 US cities to use tax incentives, direct grants and lending to promote community-level sustainable energy use. I find that state fiscal support for energy programs, influence municipal commitments to these incentivized initiatives. ​