How to green your city? Boundary challenges and net zero place leadership

Urban leaders are increasingly seeking to navigate to net zero emissions whilst balancing wider economic and social priorities. Facing the leaders tasked with delivering these ambitions are a set of boundary challenges, including in relation to time, geography, governance and policy. We explore the practical steps leaders are taking to manage these challenges in Scotland’s four largest cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Our contribution identifies that visible city leaders are: driving actions through a fragmented institutional landscape in the absence of formal arrangements; balancing practical with strategic challenges in embedding long-term thinking; and, leveraging external sources, including the use of data, to inform change.