Mobilizing institutional capacities to adapt to climate change: local government collaboration networks for risk management in Mexico City

State-centered and hierarchical government strategies based on technocratic top-down approaches have proved inadequate to address multiple interacting and cross-scale risks. In contrast, multilevel governance (MLG) provides governance by networks operating horizontally among neighboring local governments, civil society organizations, and local communities, and vertically with higher-level governmental authorities and international organizations. This paper examines the role and experience of local governments in a multilevel governance system for risk management in Mexico City. We ask what collaborative resources local governments have to address risks and how they interact across organizational scales. Results show that vertical and horizontal collaboration resources are key for coordinating responses to multiple risks. Collaboration was most common between local governments and with the subnational government, and actions most frequently focused on forecasting and prevention as well as preparedness and relief across multiple risks. We found successful elements of multilevel governance and identified the need for further research on engagement and representation of non-governmental organizations and private actors in risk management networks. These findings illuminate how collaborative resources are arranged to underpin local government actions under conditions of urgency and scarcity, where action cannot or will not wait for institutional change.