This document summarizes case studies from the MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities program. It compares seven city-region cases across three teams examining different global urban issues: 1) Global Southerners assessed Mumbai and Shenzhen, 2) Resilient Contradictors evaluated Reykjavik, Portland, and Budapest, and 3) Regional Networkers studied Glasgow and Rotterdam. The cases were analyzed using qualitative methods through two sequential modules on urban sustainability/society and public policy/governance. The comparative analysis benchmarks strategies for addressing issues like urbanization in the Global South, resilience to disasters, and regional networked development.

1. Comparing Seven City-Region Case-Studies in Three Research Postgraduate Teams from
Two Methodological Modules:
Global Cities: Sustainability and Society &
Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities.
(Msc Global Sustainable Cities 2015-2016)
Dr Igor Calzada MBA, Ed.
Global Southerners
MUMBAI Kirsten MacDonald
SHENZHEN Ning Qiu
Resilient Contradictors
REYKJAVIK Criostoir Dynes
PORTLAND Gemma Murray
BUDAPEST Nikolett Watson-Puskas
Regional Networkers
GLASGOW Gavin McAdam
ROTTERDAM Frankie Barrett
City Protocol Society, Institute for Future of Cities and Translokal Academic Entrepreneurship

2. (First) Published on 2016 by @translokal
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Editor: Dr Igor Calzada MBA
Authors: ‘Global Southerners’ research postgraduate team: Kirsten MacDonald (Mumbai) and Ning
Qiu (Shenzhen);‘Resilient Contradictors’ research postgraduate team: Criostoir Dynes (Reykjavik/
Iceland), Gemma Murray (Portland/Oregon) and Nikolett Watson-Puskas (Budapest); ‘Regional
Networkers’ research postgraduate team: Gavin McAdam (Glasgow/Scotland) and Frankie Barrett
(Rotterdam/Randstad).
ISBN: 978-8-49-427527-2
www.cityprotocol.org @cityprotocolsoc
www.ifuturecities.com @ifuturecties
www.translokal.com @translokal
About The Institute for Future of Cities
The Institute for Future Cities (University of Strathclyde) brings together governments, businesses,
academics and citizens to imagine and engage with the future of our cities, and explore how to make
cities more successful, healthier, safer and more sustainable for us all.
About City Protocol Society
CityProtocolSocietyisanon-profitorganizationformedbyatrustedcommunityofcitiesoranyregional
body related to a city government, commercial organizations, academic or research institutions, and
nonprofit organizations that leverages knowledge and experience in cities worldwide to accelerate
city transformation, by offering curated guidance and collaborative research and development (RD)
opportunities for cities.
About Translokal Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making
Translokal Academic Entrepreneurship for Policy Making is an spin-off to carry out, share and
disseminate direct real impact and applied academic research among stakeholders and it aims to play
as an on-going publishing bridge by re-mixing locally contextualized projects and newly generated
knowledge.

3. POLICY-REPORT
Download here: http:/www.translokal.com/publishing/
GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS:
MUMBAI, SHENZHEN,
REYKJAVIK, PORTLAND, BUDAPEST,
GLASGOW AND ROTTERDAM
Comparing Seven City-Region Case-Studies in Three Research Postgraduate Teams
from Two Methodological Modules:
Global Cities: Sustainability and Society
Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities.
MSc Master in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities
Edited by Dr Igor Calzada MBA
Authors
Kirsten MacDonald
Ning Qiu
Christopher Dynes
Nikolett Watson-Puskas
Gemma Murray
Gavin McAdam
Frankie Barrett

4. 4
“GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS”
Outline
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
A. INTRODUCTION 7
A.1. MSc Global Sustainable City: Two modules. 7
A.2. GSC938 Global Cities: Sustainability Society. 7
A.3. GSC942 Public Policy, Governance Strategic Change in Cities. 7
A.4. Itinerary Students/Participants: Action Research Methodology. 7
A.5. Learning by Doing. 7
A.6. Qualitative Research. 7
A.7. Case-studies. 7
A.8. City-Regions: Unit of Analysis. 7
A.9. International/Global Scope. 7
A.10. Comparative/Benchmarking.Comparing Global Sustainable City-Regions’ Urban Issues. 7
B. METHODOLOGY 9
B.1. GSC938 Global Cities: Sustainability Society. 9
B.2. GSC942 Public Policy, Strategic Change in Cities Governance. 76
C. CASES: GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS 90
C.1. Global Southerners. 90
C.1.1. Mumbai by Kirsten MacDonald 90
C.1.2. Shenzhen by Ning Qiu 116
C.2. Resilient Contradictors 139
C.2.1. Reykjavik/Iceland by Christopher Dynes 139
C.2.2. Portland/Oregon by Gemma Murrays 171
C.2.2. Budapest by Nikolett Watson-Puskas 261
C.3. Regional Networkers
C.3.1. Glasgow/Scotland by Gavin McAdam 271
C.3.2. Rotterdam/Randstad by Frankie Barrett 293
FIGURES 315
OUTLINE

5. “GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS”
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This policy report, entitled ‘Global Sustainable City-Regions,’ covers the work
developed by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA, as the editor of the publica-
tion and students/participants of the first edition of the New Masters course
MSc in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities from September to December
2015.
Specifically, this policy report follows a two-sequential-module structure:
• The first module, entitled ‘Global Cities: Sustainability and Society,’
consists of six methodological units.
• Thereafter, the second module, entitled ‘Public Policy, Governance
and Strategic Change in Cities,’ consists of five methodological units.
The policy report focuses on three urban global issues in a comparative ba-
sis. The MSc was developed in a team-based dynamic by applying qualitative
action research methodologies to understand and interpret each case and to
benchmark and contrast with other cases that addressed the same global ur-
ban issue.
The cases were selected jointly by the lecturer and the students/participants
in a dynamic process in order to achieve a suitable selection of cases that
would allow them to:
• arrange groups around one specific global urban issue,
• compare cases around the same specific urban issue, and
• produce a full case study by applying the two-sequential-module
methodology.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Figure 1.
Image by @ifuturecities

6. 6
“GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS”
As a result, the following three global urban issues and seven Global Sustaina-
ble City-Region case studies were selected. Each student/participant worked
on each of them, as follows:
GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS
Dr Igor Calzada MBA, Editor
Global Southerners
MUMBAI Kirsten MacDonald
SHENZHEN Ning Qiu
Resilient Contradictors
REYKJAVIK Criostoir Dynes
PORTLAND Gemma Murray
BUDAPEST Nikolett Watson-Puskas
Regional Networkers
GLASGOW Gavin McAdam
ROTTERDAM Frankie Barrett
Comparing Seven City-Region Case-Studies in Three Research Postgraduate
Teams from Two Methodological Modules: Global Cities: Sustainability and So-
ciety Public Policy, Governance and Strategic Change in Cities. (Msc Global
Sustainable Cities 2015-2016)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Figure 2.
Global Map wiht cases

7. “GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS”
7
A. INTRODUCTION
A.1.- MSc Global Sustainable City: Two modules
This policy report has been organised in two modules. Indeed, both modules
proceeded sequentially.
A.2.- GSC938 Global Cities: Sustainability Society.
This first module elaborates a general perspective of the urban issues at pre-
sent. Two issues are the main pivotal concepts that allow us to understand the
urban dimension: sustainability and society.
A.3.- GSC942 Public Policy, Governance Strategic Change in Cities.
The first module will be completed with a detailed body of techniques in order
to identify public policy, governance and strategic change to the cases studies
that students selected.
A.4.- Itinerary and Students/Participants: Action Research Methodology.
This report summarizes the full itinerary made by students/participants
that was conducted and mentored by the lecturer, Dr Igor Calzada, MBA. The
methodology was based on action research insofar as students/participants
and the lecturer work together in the definition and application to the sequen-
tial modules.
A.5.- Learning by Doing.
Thus, students/participants gained the ability to learn by doing a case study.
A.6.- Qualitative Research.
Though during the MSc a significant source of secondary information was
used, it could be said that case studies followed primarily qualitative methods.
A.7.- Case Studies.
Each case study was produced by one student/participant in collaboration
with peers. At the end of the day, everything boiled down to students/partici-
pants sharing and learning together.
A.8- City-Regions: Unit of Analysis.
Keeping in mind the selected cases followed a diverse range of cities and re-
gions with very diverse populations, geographical sizes and a composition of
factors, the MSc considers the city-region as the most suitable unit of analy-
sis.
A.9.- International/Global Scope.
Finally, the urban perspective encouraged students/participants to compare
the international preconditions for each case.
A.10.- Comparative/Benchmarking.
Comparing Global Sustainable City-Regions’ Urban Issues.
As the outcome of the MSc Master in Leadership for Global Sustainable Cities,
students/participants produced a case study that was organised by the lec-
turer in three comparative global urban issues. Here is the main definition of
each urban global issue, in brief:
A. INTRODUCTION

8. 8
“GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE CITY-REGIONS”
• Global Southerners:
The Global South is at the moment a key player, both in its new role of
combining radically diverse urbanisation processes and also providing
socio, economic and political urban solutions in a rather different way.
It is noteworthy that more than half of the world’s population is con-
centrated in the so-called Global South.
In this MSc, two cases have been produced: Mumbai (India) and Shen-
zhen (China). Results for both geographical contexts remarkably de-
pict a trend that could be portrayed as ‘Global Southerners’. Referen-
ces regarding BRICS countries, emergent economies and smart city
initiatives will be mentioned.
• Resilient Contradictors:
Urban issues cannot be understood without the main factor of resi-
lience. Cities in vulnerable areas will have to build up their resilience to
events such as storms and floods, and all cities need to have disaster
and recovery plans for unforeseen or unpredictable events (e.g., ear-
thquake, fire, volcanic eruption or civil unrest).
As such, in this MSc, three cases are confronted: the democratic rege-
neration-based resilience in Reykjavik (Iceland), the environmentally-
resilient Portland (Oregon) and finally, politically distrustful context in
Budapest (Hungary).
Results for three geographical settings show that contradictions from
such a diverse nature may arise in one or another direction.
• Regional Networkers:
Territorial dynamics have occurred driven by a networked-logic. Na-
tion-states have been trespassing by territorial configurations that
could be called ‘City-Regions’ (Scott, Harrison Herrschel). However,
these reticular logics are based on such diverse political and economic
sources. This is the case for the cases of Glasgow (Scotland) and Rot-
terdam (Randstad). On the one hand, Glasgow should be understood as
an engine of the city-regional Scottish configuration, in balance with
Edinburgh and the other Scottish cities. On the contrary, Randstad has
been referenced as the paradigmatic urban network case.
Results for both geographical units explain how a city-regional confi-
guration could follow one or the other networked-dynamic.
A. INTRODUCTION
#MScGSCGlasgow
Figure 3.
#MScGSCGlasgow