A green surge amidst conservative politics: The case of Knoxville, Tennessee

Increasingly, responsibility for addressing climate change has been placed on cities. However, cities often lack the knowledge and resources to adequately respond. In the U.S., this task can be especially difficult for cities operating in Republican-led states, which are resistant to adopting green energy and job initiatives. Despite this, limited research has examined the strategies that cities working in conservative environments adopt to overcome such challenges. This paper examines the strategies that city leaders employed in Knoxville, Tennessee, between 2007 and 2015 to accelerate a green recovery from the Great Recession. Drawing on fieldwork, interviews, focus group, and document analyses, the paper demonstrates how leaders initially operated outside of public purview and then strategically rolled out programs and messaging that capitalized on industry strengths and resonated with popular politics.