THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNANCE, AND URBAN PLANNING ■ 133ment set by national building energy standards, our case studies show that they
can mandate additional measures for the built environment within their juris-
diction that can have an impact on GHG emissions. In Melbourne, a man-
datory energy performance requirement of 4.5 stars for offi ce developments
greater than 2,500 square meters has been introduced under the municipality’s
planning powers. In New Delhi, solar water heating systems have been made
mandatory in certain categories of buildings, including government offi ces,
hospitals, educational institutions, and the hospitality sector, and the use of
incandescent bulbs in all new and existing government establishments has been
banned (DTL 2008). Similar standards have been established in São Paulo,
where, since 2007, buildings with more than three bathrooms, whether they are
homes, apartments, trade, services, or industrial buildings, must use solar water
heating systems (TCG 2008). Mexico City has devised a new “Clean Building
Label” for all new construction required as part of its Plan Verde (Mexico City
2008). Th ese examples show that, even where direct municipal competencies
for establishing building standards may be missing, local governments moti-
vated to go beyond standard practice have a range of tools at their disposal to
augment the energy performance of the built environment.
Provisioning
In contrast with the use of a regulation mode of governing, we fi nd that gov-
erning through “provisioning”—of infrastructures or services, which shape
behavioral choices and restructure markets—has been limited with respect to
the built environment. We fi nd only one example across our case studies where
a municipal authority is involved in directly providing energy-effi cient infra-
structures and services, and this is Mexico City. Here the municipality is install-
ing 30,000 square meters of green roofs each year until 2012. It is also launching
a new social housing model that integrates green areas, public spaces, and
environmental design (Mexico City 2008). Although formulated as mitigation
strategies, these moves address adaptation as well through enabling residents to
better cope with extreme temperatures indoors, especially in housing that lacks
heating or cooling devices or for residents with limited income. Th e lack of evi-
dence from the other cases of municipalities adopting this role suggests either
that municipal governments have a limited role in the provisioning of built
environments (such as social housing) in these cities or that they are engaged in
other means of providing low-energy services, including enabling and partner-
ship approaches, which we will discuss further.
Enabling
Our case studies show that providing information, reward, and recognition
are key means through which municipal governments can enable action by