Beyond Backyard Environmentalism

When we think of environmental action, we draw upon images from the disaster of Love Canal or from A CIVIC ACTION--stories of lone activists fighting the government or some corporation against all odds. In their provocative essay, Sabel and Fung demonstrate that an effective alternative is emerging. Before environmental disasters occur, citizen groups are collaborating with experts, business leaders, and local and federal governments to figure out what is best for their own neighborhoods. These examples point to more than successful environmental action; they represent a model of grassroots democracy we can apply to the needs of our community.

NEW DEMOCRACY FORUM

A series of short paperback originals exploring creative solutions to our most urgent national concerns. The series editors (for Boston Review), Joshua Cohen and Joel Rogers, aim to foster politically engaged, intellectually honest, and morally serious debate about fundamental issues-both on and off the agenda of conventional politics.