Toward Sustainable Communities: Transition and Transformations in Environmental Policy

by Daniel A. Mazmanian (Editor), Michael E. Kraft (Editor), Sheldon Kamieniecki (Editor)

This book reviews and assesses environmental policy over the past three decades—primarily in the United States but with implications for other nations. The editors place U.S. environmental policy within the framework of the transition from 1970s-era policies that emphasized federally controlled regulation, through a period of criticism and efficiency-based reform efforts, to an emerging era of sustainability in which decisionmaking takes place increasingly at the local and regional levels. The book looks at what does and does not work and how social, economic, and environmental goals can be integrated through policy strategies grounded in the concept of sustainability.

Toward Sustainable Communities uses six case studies to illustrate innovative strategies in specific policy areas: air pollution control, water pollution control, land use, transportation, urban redevelopment, and regional ecosystem management. The contributors assess such new approaches as the use of market incentives and collaborative decisionmaking and place these experiments in the larger framework of the still-evolving transition to community sustainability.

Genres: College

341 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Daniel A. Mazmanian is Professor of Public Policy at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

Reviews

[Trey J Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the time it was written, I am sure it was a great read. However, since there is not an updated copy that has addressed how America has changed, it is like an outdated history book. The second complaint would be the over-focus on West and East coasts and marginalization of the Rocky Mountains, Southwest, western Mid-West states. As required reading for class, it is fine. But, there is more current books that do better to address the modern policies and views on sustainable communities.