Grantee Research Project Results
Environmental Democracy: An Analysis of Brownfields Policymaking
EPA Grant Number: U915201Title: Environmental Democracy: An Analysis of Brownfields Policymaking
Investigators: Zeitler, Amy A.
Institution: Purdue University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: January 1, 1997 through January 1, 2000
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice , Fellowship - Urban Planning
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., RFA, Scientific Discipline, POLLUTION PREVENTION, Waste, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, Economics, Brownfields, decision-making, sustainable development, Social Science, Ecology and Ecosystems, advocacy coalition framework, urban planning, environmental education, environmental democracy, ecosystem valuation, policy making, stakeholders, redevelopment, environmental decision making, urban regeneration, land use, community participation, environmental policy, decision making, outreach and education, brownfield sites, community based environmental planningProgress and Final Reports:
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.