Administration of Community Participation in Small-Scale Projects: Brownfield Remediation in Los Angeles. Issue 3 (March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Campbell, Heather; Eckerd, Adam; Kim, Yushim
• Is Part Of: Administration & society. Volume 53:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 378
• Page End: 409
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Subjects: brownfields -- public participation -- environmental management; Public administration -- Periodicals; 351
• DOI: 10.1177/0095399720944064
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-3997

Abstract

This study examines when and how community involvement occurs in the remediation processes of brownfield sites in Los Angeles County, California. Although community participation is usually considered important for determining what happens with these sites, our results indicate that, except in sometimes triggering evaluation by alerting authorities about it, community involvement almost never occurs when important decisions are made. Participation does sometimes occur, but when and how cleanup occurs is driven by administrative processes, with bureaucrats following procedure, rather than following community preferences. The findings suggest that the best space for communities in the process may be the identification of sites that need remediation.