Patrick Field

Evaluating Community-Based Collaboration on Federal Lands and Resources

The growing interest in community-based collaboration (CBC) has provoked both enthusiasm and skepticism. This article sheds some light on the claims of both proponents and skeptics by presenting data on nearly 50 cases of CBC on federal lands and resources in the Rocky Mountain West. The findings indicate that participants are generally satisfied with the process and outcomes of CBC; CBC tends to open and inclusive of all interests, viewpoints, and stakeholders; CBC fosters informed decision making; CBC is efficient in terms of time and money; CBC produces valuable outcomes; CBC is often better than its alternatives; and CBC is slowly realigning the roles of citizens and public officials. This article also offers some insights on evaluating collaboration.

Risk and Justice: Rethinking the Concept of Compensation

In recent years, environmental justice advocates have made a convincing claim that risky facilities have been disproportionately clustered in poor communities and communities of color. NIMBYism (not in my backyard) has spread from predominantly white, affluent suburbs to poorer communities of color. In this article, we propose a means of addressing environmental inequities and breaking the siting impasse. We think that poor communities of color might use the proposed siting of risky facilities as a basis for negotiating substantial improvements in the well-being of their communities. We propose to embed siting negotiations in the preparation of broader development packages, jointly created with citizens of poor neighborhoods and communities of color, so that health risks are reduced, the environment is improved, and all residents are better off. As far as justice is concerned, the perceived fairness of the process by which risks are communicated and selected, and risk management strategies are devised, is as important as the actual allocation of risk.

Responding to Streams of Land Use Disputes: A Systems Approach

Abstract Disputes over land use are inevitable. Two recent studies demonstrate that negotiation and mediation can effectively resolve such disputes on an ad hoc, case-by-case basis. Given this evidence, and the reality that disputes over land use in many communities are increasingly chronic and ongoing, it is time to move beyond the ad hoc use of negotiation and mediation and incorporate collaborative methods throughout the land use decision-making process.