Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes and critically assesses experiments with applying this innovative Dutch program, and variants of the approach being applied in Amsterdam. It presents cases of public sector programs to measure and manage environmental spillovers within urban areas of other countries. The book represents a rich resource of ideas concerning methodologies and approaches for addressing these issues, and additionally discusses the political, institutional and economic aspects of implementing these programs. The Provisional System for Integrated Environmental Zoning was initiated in 1990 and is based on assessing several kinds of spillovers from industry or traffic on areas occupied by sensitive uses. The Dutch initiative to assess and improve environmental quality in cities is one of the few efforts to integrate these concerns and to resolve this conflict.