From sectoral silos to climate hegemony: analysis of global urban policies (1984-2025)

Ajishnu Roy 

Contemporary urban environmental governance faces a paradox: while international frameworks advocate integration, climate discourse appears to subsume. This study analyzed 202 urban policies from 85 countries (1984-2025) using various methods, temporal discourse analysis, keyword co-occurrence networks, framing detection, and sentiment analysis. Policies accelerated exponentially, with 2010-2025 comprising 82.2% of the output. Network analysis revealed climate hegemony: climate terminology appeared in 52.5% of the 2020s policies (climate-hazards: 232 co-occurrences), functioning as an organizing principle. The circular economy surged (% → 16.4%), while water (32%), biodiversity (26%), and participatory concepts (67%) declined, despite intensifying crises and SDG commitments. The Climate & Sustainability Core exhibited 5 times greater connectivity density versus water resource communities, indicating systematic displacement. Geographic patterns revealed epistemological divides: post-industrial economies privileged environmental framing (Oceania 5.9%), whereas Africa maintained infrastructure emphasis (1.6% environmental, 3.76% spatial). Sub-national policies (28%) challenged horizontal diffusion assumptions, with federal systems enabling experimentation (Oceania 75% sub-national versus Africa 0%). Rhetorical analysis showed aspirational dominance (71.3%) with a 2020s positivity surge (80.3%) despite crises. The findings confirm that climate-centric paradigms replace sectoral silos with conceptual hegemony, subordinating biodiversity, water security, equity, and participation beneath climate-mediated frameworks, raising critical questions about the urban realities that achieve policy codification.