The other end of the spectrum: municipal climate change mitigation planning in the politically conservative Dallas–Fort Worth region

Abstract

Among the growing number of studies describing and evaluating municipal-scale programs to mitigate global climate change, relatively little attention has been given to municipalities that are not leading such efforts or to municipalities in politically conservative regions. Our research examines climate-relevant municipal planning in a structured sample of communities across the largely conservative Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Using data from planning documents and staff interviews, we evaluate the prevalence and vigor of numerous mitigation-relevant activities. We characterize the target municipalities according to a new typology addressing the maturation of local climate action. We find that in this politically conservative region communities are clustered toward the laggard end of the typology—away from the advanced end—and for the first time in the climate planning literature we identify several faltering emergent communities, whose nascent climate protection initiatives appear to have stalled.