ancient cities

migration policies, and stream daylighting policies.
This approach to urban environmental policy is
seen to have strong potential for the long-term
mitigation of environmental hazards that put cities
at increasing risk under climate change, perhaps
the clearest example of nature’s adaptation to
urban development worldwide.
The decision to take action against environmental
degradation is socially constructed. The point
at which waste becomes pollution, risk becomes
unacceptable, or consumption goes beyond basic
needs is a matter of context-specific interpretation.
Even environmental policies that seem to be uncompromising
attempts to dematerialize cities or separate
cities from their dependence on increasing
resource throughput, such as Canberra, Australia’s
“No Waste by 2010” policy, are implemented
through public education about waste, waste valuation,
and marketization programs.
Future of Environmental Policy
Urban environmental policy relies on sound science,
access to resources, and political dialogue
and decisions. The extent and severity of environmental
problems in contemporary cities continue
to be objects of much debate and conjecture. The
holistic and forward-looking stance of sustainable
urban development is appealing for its promise of
coherence and balance, as demonstrated by “triple
bottom line accounting” whereby the economic
benefit–cost ratio of a given project must be balanced
against both social and environmental benefit–cost
ratios. Despite coherence in theory, practices
of environmental policymaking in cities derive
from a wide range of motivations—recreational,
educational, ecological, economic, equity, health,
reputation—and these can conflict. For example,
providing for the basic needs of all people in the
context of resource scarcity implicitly requires
decreasing excessive consumption by some people.
Also, activities that are environmentally harmful
to cities in the aggregate and over the long term
often make individuals’ lives more convenient and
immediately enjoyable. Dissent about the drivers
of, and best policy responses to, urban environmental
problems may be considered a sign of
progress, as more diverse actors become engaged
with the issues and challenge existing and proposed
policies and positions.
Environmental Policy
249
Urban environmental policy has an uneasy relationship
with urban governance, as it is usually
quite separate from the core functions of urban
government and as arguments persist about the
utility of “command and control” compared to
voluntary approaches to improving environmental
performance. Considerable advances in environmental
policy have made urban lives tolerable and
often rewarding for billions of people through a
range of legislative, voluntary, and partnershipbased
approaches. Most preferred by private sector
interests are voluntary associations and agreements,
often pursued at the international scale. Two prominent
examples are the International Standards
Organization’s ISO 14,001, which offers an extensive
list of environmental performance standards for
signatories, and, specific to the construction industry,
the Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design points-based accreditation system for green
buildings. City governments and nongovernment
organizations also engage in international networks
for environmental policy research, dialogue, and
action, such as the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives and the UN-HABITAT
World Urban Forum, proving that cities are capable
and prepared to play active roles in international
environmental improvement.
Meg Holden
See also Environmental Policy; Sustainable Development
Further Readings
Bulkeley, Harriet and Michelle Betsill. 2003. Cities and
Climate Change: Urban Sustainability and Global
Environmental Governance. New York: Routledge.
Daly, Herman E. and J. B. Cobb. 1994. For the Common
Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community,
the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. 2nd ed.
Boston: Beacon.
Hardoy, J. E., D. Mitlin, and D. Satterthwaite. 2001.
Environmental Problems in an Urbanizing World.
London: Earthscan.
Meadows, D. H., D. L. Meadows, and J. Randers. 1972.
Limits to Growth. New York: Universe Books.
Tarr, Joel. 1996. The Search for the Ultimate Sink.
Akron, OH: University of Akron Press.
World Commission on Environment and Development.
1987. Our Common Future. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press.