Environmental Policy and Implementation

Abstract

In the preceding chapters we have attempted to clarify, both theoretically and empirically, the substance of the urbanization process with respect to environmental degradation. In this chapter we focus on environmental policy and its implementation process; we look primarily at the elements of the social response to environmental degradation that lead to policy formulation. In trying to trace out the social responses to environmental degradation as well as the environmental policy process in general, we find that the elements of environmental policy and implementation are not easily grasped. In particular, we find that quantitative methods, such as cost-benefit analysis, do not provide an adequate means of assessing environmental quality or policy; moreover, they cannot easily encompass the intangibles of social responses to environmental degradation.