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Toward Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy PDF

383 Pages·2009·5.125 MB·English
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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. For information about special quantity discounts, please email special_sales@ 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,

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