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Environmental Democracy: An Analysis of Brownfields Policymaking

EPA Grant Number: U915201
Title: Environmental Democracy: An Analysis of Brownfields Policymaking
Investigators: Zeitler, Amy A.
Institution: Purdue University - Main Campus
EPA Project Officer: Thompson, Delores
Project Period: January 1, 1997 through January 1, 2000
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1997)
Research Category: Fellowship - Urban and Land Use Planning , Economics and Decision Sciences , Academic Fellowships

Description:

Objective:

The objective of this research project is to compare and contrast strong democracy's normative ideals with an empirical analysis of brownfields policymaking. This research explores how process inclusiveness and issue framing shape struggles over values that determine policy agendas and constrain the possible alternatives for remedying social and environmental problems.

Approach:

I use three central concepts to explore how policy actors influence public decisionmaking: (1) participation, (2) framing, and (3) policy design. Participation refers to people attending policy-related functions, asking questions, offering thoughts and opinions, and generally engaging in the social elements of public policymaking. Framing describes individual perceptions of the values and goals that public policies should reflect. Policy design translates voices and values into actions and strategies. By focusing on particular elements of a policy problem, designs reflect which values, concerns, and perspectives were deemed acceptable and appropriate and whose voices were influential. Each of these concepts appears separately in the literature. I combine them to build an empirically testable theory of environmental democracy that I apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Northwest Indiana CitiesBrownfields Redevelopment Project (NIBRP). I use discourse and content analysis to evaluate data collected through indepth interviews, participant observation, and NIBRP-related documents (the project’s original application materials, work plans, public meeting notes, position papers, fact sheets, newsletters, newspaper articles, internal memos, annual reports, meeting minutes, workshop handouts, and press releases).

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, brownfield, Northwest Indiana Brownfields Redevelopment Project, NIBRP, brownfields, policy, policymaking, decision making, policy design. , Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Scientific Discipline, Waste, RFA, POLLUTION PREVENTION, Brownfields, Social Science, decision-making, sustainable development, Economics & Decision Making, Ecology and Ecosystems, Economics, stakeholders, urban planning, Brownfield, ecosystem valuation, brownfield sites, urban regeneration, decision making, advocacy coalition framework, environmental education, environmental policy, land use, policy making, outreach and education, community participation, community based environmental planning, environmental democracy, environmental decision making

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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