Challenge of Environmental Policy Integration: A Multi-Level Governance Perspective

Abstract

Sustainable urban development requires integrating environmental objectives into local decision-making. Higher tiers of government may attempt to ensure this by compelling municipalities to comply with national environmental standards, which theoretically restrict local discretion in balancing competing interests. This paper investigates the extent to which national standards limit local options and what this implies for sustainable urban development. Using a multi-level governance perspective and drawing on three cases of inner-city redevelopment, the study finds that environmental standards are often not overly restrictive, or where they are, sectoral policies provide ways to circumvent them. From a sustainability perspective, however, this may produce undesirable outcomes. The paper argues that a combination of approaches is needed to reconcile environmental policy integration with local development flexibility.