Search

There is great value in understanding the public's reactions to terror attacks, though such reactions pose stark challenges for sound psychological investigation. Reactions to terrorism (as with any other threat) involve emotional and cognitive components, and the degree to which they reciprocally interact is not well understood. Furthermore, much of the literature on the public response to terrorism is based on the construct of "risk perception," whose precise definition and correlates are still ambiguous. This study aimed to more clearly disentangle the various emotional and cognitive facets that predict individuals' response to the terrorism threat in the United States. We employed a longitudinal survey from a representative U.S. sample (n = 1057) and measured attitudinal and cognitive reactions to the threat of terrorism at both time points. An autoregressive latent variable model was used to assess the stability of such variables over time, as well as their reciprocal effects on one another. Participants' emotional and cognitive reactions to the threat of terrorism evolved independently over time, contrary to the predictions of some prior risk perception literature. Furthermore, measurements of risk perception depended mostly on prior estimates of attack likelihood, emphasizing the importance of individuals' assessments of hazard probability in the risk judgment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research into the connections between water and energy, water and food, and food and energy has been scientific and technical; little research has examined the public’s understandings of these connections. This article studies these understandings and awareness of nexus issues using a 2015 national public opinion survey on the water–energy–food nexus. Responses from this representative sample of U.S. adults are used to create “awareness measures” for elements of the nexus—water and energy, water and food, and energy and food—which are then used as independent variables to investigate the extent to which awareness is associated with support for public policies designed to address these nexus interconnections. All three measures are significantly correlated to support for policy options. Results suggest that awareness of the water–energy–food nexus may represent conditions necessary for supporting policies and that building such awareness could represent an important pathway for increasing support for policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American cities vary considerably in the degree to which they pursue sustainability. What explains this variation? One plausible cause of such differences is that sustainability may be more appealing to high-income cities than to more economically challenged cities. Yet such strict economic determinism seems simplistic and removes politics from an inherently political process. The hypothesis here is that any such relationship between income and commitment to sustainability is conditioned by a city's level of environmental advocacy. The data utilized in this analysis are derived from two large-scale data sources. One is a comprehensive inventory of sustainability programs and policies in 50 large American cities. The other is a set of surveys in those same 50 cities. The multivariate model supports the hypothesis. Controlling for income growth and the predisposition of policymakers to be supportive of sustainability (as well as other alternative explanations), a city's commitment to sustainability is strongly linked to the advocacy of environmental and sustainability groups in the policymaking process. The example of Sustainable Seattle is used to illustrate the linkages that would seem to underlie the statistical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent do local administrators include business interests in their informal bargaining and negotiation on issues involving economic development and environmental and sustainability policies? In the absence of previous studies, we extend political market theory to decisions involving administrative officials by investigating differences across city agencies in the extent they provide business organizations access to the policy development processes. A multilevel analysis is applied to a unique set of survey responses from 413 local government administrators in 50 of the 54 largest U.S. cities. These design and data innovations provide new insights into local administrators’ willingness to grant access to economic development interests. Within individual cities, we account for differences in agency mission and administrators’ personal positions and experiences. Across cities, we account comparatively for variations in government size, demographic characteristics, ideology, and growth patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the relationship between political and civic participation and the pursuit of sustainability in American cities. Some have argued that cities that exhibit more participation, engagement, and bridging social capital are more likely to pursue policies and programs designed to achieve greater sustainability. Others have posited alternative explanations, especially explanations related to resources, socioeconomic status, and economic growth. Using the Social Capital Benchmark Survey cities-10 of which have extensive sustainability programs, 5 of which have modest programs, and 12 of which have virtually no sustainability programs at all-as the source of comparison, this research finds that cities that are most committed to pursuing sustainability policies do tend to be more participatory places with respect to signing petitions, participating in demonstrations, belonging to local reform groups, and joining neighborhood associations, even controlling for personal income and other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This response to Lenahan O'Connell's article “Exploring the Social Roots of Smart Growth Policy Adoption by Cities” examines whether the relationship between education and the adoption of smart growth programs in U.S. cities is reflective of the new political culture and rooted in postmaterial values or, perhaps, just reflective of a slightly different way of thinking about traditional economic development. Methods. Using data for 45 U.S. cities that have articulated broad policies to try to become more sustainable, this analysis includes a measure of the severity of air pollution as an indicator of the need for smart growth programs. Results. The measure of need is more strongly related to the pursuit of smart growth than is either education or income. Conclusions. Since the level of air pollution is frequently understood to make economic growth difficult or impossible, the results suggest that smart growth programs might be just as likely motivated by traditional economic development as by postmaterial values, and there is a need to develop a deeper understanding of the motivates for adopting such programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After briefly reviewing some conceptual underpinnings of sustainable cities, this paper analyses and compares sustainable cities initiatives in 24 US cities. The central question addressed in the paper is why some cities seem to take sustainability more seriously than others. Numerous demographic, socioeconomic and other characteristics of the cities are correlated with an Index of Taking Sustainability Seriously, which is a composite of some 34 different variables indicating whether each city engages in specific sustainability programmes, policies or activities. Many of the standard explanations, such as the income and wealth of the community, the liberalness of the city and the growth pressures placed on the city, are found to exhibit no correlation with the seriousness of the sustainability effort. What do correlate with the Index are: reliance on manufacturing, where having more residents employed in manufacturing industries is associated with less seriousness; and, the age of the population, where cities with older populations take sustainability more seriously. This has three implications for the future development of sustainable cities. First, some of the cities that might be said to need sustainability programmes the most—cities with heavy manufacturing that are more prone to pollution production—are the least likely to take such programmes seriously. Secondly, as cities' manufacturing bases decline, they should find it increasingly feasible to engage in sustainability initiatives. And, thirdly, as the populations of cities age, policy-makers should also find it easier to support, develop and take seriously sustainability programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the potential of the theory of compensation for mitigating public opposition to hazardous waste treatment facility siting. Public opinion data from five Massachusetts communities discover the potential of the theory for successful siting; Public attitudes toward hazardous waste treatment facility siting in Massachusetts communities.