ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the challenges that local governments face in managing environmental hazards. It begins by setting environmental hazard management within a political context, rather than a technical or an administrative one. It then examines the fragmented system of policymaking and shared governance that localities face when managing environmental risk hazards. It considers the tools and approaches that local governments can choose to manage their environmental risks and hazards. The chapter considers social vulnerability and community resilience and their implications for local government. Finally, it concludes with some approaches to better understand future environmental hazard management, including policy learning and an accumulation of experience from multiple disasters.
