Toward Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy

383 Pages·2009·5.125 MB·English

by  Daniel A. Mazmanian, Michael E. Kraft

Toward Sustainable
Communities
Transition and Transformations
in Environmental Policy
SECOND EDITION
edited by
Daniel A. Mazmanian and
Michael E. Kraft
Toward Sustainable Communities
American and Comparative Environmental Policy
Sheldon Kamieniecki and Michael E. Kraft, series editors
A complete list of books published in the American and Comparative
Environmental Policy series appears at the back of the book.
Toward Sustainable Communities
Transition and Transformations in
Environmental Policy
Second Edition
Edited by Daniel A. Mazmanian and Michael E. Kraft
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by
any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or
information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the
publisher.
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mitpress.mit.edu
This book was set in Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong.
Printed on recycled paper and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Toward sustainable communities : transition and transformations in environmen-
tal policy/edited by Daniel A. Mazmanian and Michael E. Kraft.
—2nd ed.
p. cm.—(American and comparative environmental policy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-13492-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-262-51229-9
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Environmental policy—United States. 2. Sustainable development—United
States. I. Mazmanian, Daniel A., 1945–. II. Kraft, Michael E.
GE180.T69 2009
333.720973—dc22
2008038557
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Foreword by Sheldon Kamieniecki vii
Preface ix
Contributors xiii
I Introduction 1
1 The Three Epochs of the Environmental Movement 3
Daniel A. Mazmanian and Michael E. Kraft
2 Conceptual and Analytical Challenges in Building Sustainable
Communities 33
Lamont C. Hempel
3 Regulating for the Future: A New Approach for Environmental
Governance 63
Daniel J. Fiorino
II Transitional Approaches in Conventional Media-Based
Environmental Policies 87
4 Los Angeles’ Clean Air Saga—Spanning the Three Epochs 89
Daniel A. Mazmanian
5 Cleaning Wisconsin’s Waters: From Command and Control to
Collaborative Decision Making 115
Michael E. Kraft
6 Local Open Space Preservation in the United States 141
Daniel Press and Nicole Nakagawa
vi Contents
III Toward Community, Regional, and State Strategies for
Sustainability: Leading Examples of the Transformation
Process 169
7 Blueprint Planning in California: An Experiment in Regional
Planning for Sustainable Development 171
Elisa Barbour and Michael Teitz
8 Climate Change and Multilevel Governance: The Evolving State
and Local Roles 201
Michele M. Betsill and Barry G. Rabe
9 Sustainability in American Cities: A Comprehensive Look at What
Cities Are Doing and Why 227
Kent E. Portney
10 Collaborative Watershed Partnerships in the Epoch of
Sustainability 255
Mark Lubell, William D. Leach, and Paul A. Sabatier
11 Sustainability in a Regional Context: The Case of the Great Lakes
Basin 289
Barry G. Rabe and Marc Gaden
IV Overview and Implications for a Sustainable Future 315
12 Conclusions: Toward Sustainable Communities 317
Michael E. Kraft and Daniel A. Mazmanian
Index 335
Foreword
The terms “sustainability,” “sustainable societies,” and “sustainable
development” dominate the current debate over present and future envi-
ronmental policy. Unfortunately, little attention is being paid to the
precise defi nition of these terms, and much confusion surrounds their
use. Also complicating our understanding of the meaning of sustainabil-
ity is whether we are focusing (or should focus) our attention on small,
clearly defi ned jurisdictions at the local level, or whether it is indeed
necessary to analyze and achieve sustainability at the national, regional,
or global level. The answer to this question has profound implications
for the variables we choose to examine, how we structure our analysis
and research, and the policy recommendations that are generated.
At the heart of the controversy is the extent to which communities
(however defi ned) can and at what pace move toward the dual goals of
vibrant economic development on the one hand and environmental pro-
tection and a high quality of life on the other. Moreover, what actions
or policies actually constitute successful movement along this path
remains open to question. Everyone can agree that both goals are desir-
able, and many believe that they are attainable, but no one knows exactly
how to balance the two and at what societal and governmental level they
are most likely to be implemented and effective.
This book edited by Daniel Mazmanian and Michael Kraft is the
second edition of a widely cited and highly successful volume that
addressed these and similar critical questions concerning sustainability
by reviewing and assessing environmental policy successes and failures
at the community level (that is, subnational local, regional, and state
levels) over an extended period of time, across the United States. Like
the fi rst edition, this book deals at length with the various meanings of
sustainability and its application in recent years at the community level.
viii Foreword
However, much has changed since the publication of the fi rst edition,
and the new edition contains an expanded number of case studies of
specifi c places and policy arenas. The chapters are woven together by
viewing their specifi c cases through the lens of the evolution of environ-
mental policy across three overlapping but nonetheless distinct epochs
of the environmental movement in the United States. A main theme of
the study is the shift of policymaking away from command-and-control
approaches and toward policy strategies that are associated with sustain-
ability, particularly at the local and regional level. The book assesses the
capacity of the concept of sustainability to serve as a foundation for a
new era of environmental policy at all levels of government. As a conse-
quence of evaluating the extent and pace of this overall transition to
sustainability-based environmental policy, we come away with a much
deeper understanding of the factors that affect the transition within dif-
ferent institutional and political contexts. Both policymakers and stu-
dents of environmental policy will fi nd this second edition as provocative
and stimulating as the fi rst edition (if not more so), especially given the
growing importance of the concept of sustainability.
The book illustrates well the purpose of the MIT Press series in Ameri-
can and Comparative Environmental Policy. MIT Press encourages work
that examines a broad range of environmental policy issues. The series
editors are particularly interested in volumes that incorporate interdisci-
plinary research and focus on the linkages between public policy and
environmental problems and issues both within the United States and in
cross-national settings. They welcome contributions that analyze the
policy dimensions of relationships between humans and the environment
from either a theoretical or empirical perspective. At a time when environ-
mental policies are increasingly seen as controversial and new approaches
are being implemented widely, they especially encourage studies that
assess policy successes and failures, evaluate new institutional arrange-
ments and policy tools, and clarify new directions for environmental poli-
tics and policy. The books in this series are written for a wide audience
that includes academics, policymakers, environmental scientists and pro-
fessionals, business and labor leaders, environmental activists, and stu-
dents concerned with environmental issues. Hopefully, they contribute to
public understanding of environmental problems, issues, and policies of
concern today and also suggest promising actions for the future.
Sheldon Kamieniecki, University of California, Santa Cruz
American and Comparative Environmental Policy Series Coeditor
Preface
Anyone attempting to understand the state of environmental policy in
the United States today will encounter a wide and bewildering array of
laws, programs, and approaches. They range from very stringent and
federally directed efforts, such as those in the air pollution and nuclear
waste arenas, to an enormous assortment of local, regional, and state
water, land-use, urban growth, and resource management policies. There
are policies that are quite specifi c (for example, monitoring the transpor-
tation of hazardous waste), and there are some that are exceptionally
broad (the congressional mandate to clean up the nation’s waters to the
point where they are swimmable and fi shable). Policies differ in mission
and purpose, in who or what is considered the cause of the problem, in
who is responsible for remedying the situation, in what strategies are
employed to bring about the desired change in behavior by individuals,
businesses, and governmental agencies, and in who is expected to enforce
the law.
The conventional way of bringing a degree of clarity to this con-
fusing array is to trace the history of a particular type of environ-
mental policy, such as water or air pollution. This was the most
common approach in studies of environmental policy in the 1990s
when we were writing the fi rst edition of this book, and with few
exceptions it remains so today. This “media”-specifi c approach is
valuable and usually sheds light on the many and often unique details
that exist within a given policy domain. The drawback to this approach
is that it is never clear if the experience in one arena is unique or
symptomatic of broader currents within the environmental movement
and direction of environmental policy nationwide. An alternative and
equally prominent approach is to provide a cross-sectional snapshot,
spanning a range of environmental arenas. This is usually informative,