The Politics of Contaminated Sites Management

Contaminated sites became a critical environmental challenge in the late 1970s, affecting even prosperous nations like Switzerland, which faces around 38,000 contaminated locations due to past waste management practices. The authors argue for the importance of open and polycentric decision-making that involves civil society in addressing this issue. They frame environmental management as a political process, highlighting how institutions shape the interactions among various stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests.