Gender politics, the Tobin tax, zero waste, firearms, corporate governance and the digital divide were just some of the plethora of subjects up for discussion.
The Kids Company story is again gaining headlines, but it is still being treated in isolation, as a special case of waste and poor governance.
"Transparency is one of our most powerful weapons against corruption, waste and bad governance, providing the basis on which people can hold their politicians to account and demand change where change is needed," said UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening.
The growing awareness of what appears to be a looming global water crisis, where the human rights of millions of people are being jeopardized and billions of US dollars are being wasted due to poor water governance, calls for a holistic discussion of these critical issues.
In total, 120 cities have been scrutinised via indicators under the following subject headings: energy & CO2, transport, water, air quality, land use & buildings, waste, sanitation and environmental governance.
Reig said the "best interventions" to prevent water contamination were legal tools: "The drivers of untreated waste water discharges are poor governance of resources and water quality standards that are often non-existent (in the developing world) and not enforced, if they are there".
In Chapter 10, the carbon dioxide capture and storage technology is assessed against criteria from the governance of radioactive waste.
According to the Siemens Green City Index, an ongoing project researched by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the world's greenest cities score high marks in CO2 emissions, transportation options, water and waste management, and overall environmental governance.
Three types of balkanization are described and critiqued: a) spatial/geographical (balkanization of ecosystem and environmental management); b) sectoral (balkanization of urban governance sectors—solid waste, drainage and sewerage, pollution control, infrastructure); and c) institutional (balkanization of urban and disaster mitigation/management institutions).
