ABSTRACT
Issues of environmental equity and justice have attracted increasing attention, stimulated by the emergence of the sustainable development agenda. Despite the use of a variety of new techniques for involving local people in planning projects, environmental decisions remain fiercely contested. During the first half of the twentieth century, environmental groups in the UK sought to conserve the natural heritage and promote the aesthetic values of nature, while in the USA campaigners fought for the preservation of the wilderness. Town and country planning in the UK has had a long-term interest in issues of procedural justice and public participation. Theoretical discourse within the planning profession has focused on a collaborative model of planning, drawing on the Habermasian concept of communicative action. The importance of creating and nurturing strong relationships between the numerous stakeholders in a locality, based on openness and mutual trust, is central to the challenge of both sustainable development and environmental justice.
