Holistic Sustainable Development in the European Multi-Level Political System: The Case of Berlin

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Political Systems - Germany, grade: 1,7, University of Potsdam (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät), course: Governing Sustainable Cities, language: English, abstract: The task of this assignment is an attempt to put Berlin's efforts into perspective and to examine Berlin's approach towards becoming a sustainable city from the point of view of a holistic understanding of sustainability.In order to do so the assignment will start with the description of such a holistic conception, namely the so-called pillar-model, which comprises interlinked and interdependent dimensions or spheres of sustainable development - the economy, ecology, political institutions and social aspects. This chapter will combine the description of the model with a summary of two significant documents. Furthermore a special focus already has to be set on issues for sustainable development, that arise from multi-level systems of governance, by analyzing the competences and efforts of the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany in the political field of sustainable politics - and the deductive obligations for Berlin. As I will demonstrate for the case of legislative principles in the European Union substantial shifts on the superordinate level may affect the local level in the implementation and the conception of one's own initiatives. Afterwards, I will present two initiatives of Berlin - Berlin's Local Agenda 21 and the Environmental Relief Programme (ERP). All of these programmes have to be put into perspective in my conclusion, whether one can talk about a genuine approach of the Land of Berlin, or if Berlin just complies with its obligations in the multi-level political system. Throughout the assignemt I will follow the assumption, that Berlin is heavily bound by systematic obligations and financial constraints. In those areas, where the city finally designs and implements programmes, it is obliged to do so and to rely on financial support to conduct the initiatives, respectively this support is a significant incentive.