Resolving Development Disputes Through Negotiations

In the last decade, disputes between developers and local commu nities over proposed construction projects have led to increasing litiga tion. Environmental legislation, in particular, has greatly enhanced the rights and powers of organized groups that desire to participate in local development decisions. These powers have allowed citizen groups to block undesired and socially unacceptable projects, such as highways through urban areas and sprawling suburban developments. At the same time, these powers have produced a collective inability to construct many needed projects that produce adverse local impacts. Prisons, airports, hos pitals, waste treatment plants, and energy facilities all face years of liti gation before a final decision. At times, prolonged litigation has pro duced especially high costs to all participants. Despite these new powers, citizen action has often been limited to participation in public hearings or adjudicatory proceedings. Typically, this occurs so late in the decision process that citizen input has very little affect in shaping a project's design. Those who dislike some element of a project often have little choice other than to oppose the entire project through litigation.

Klappentext

In the last decade, disputes between developers and local commu­ nities over proposed construction projects have led to increasing litiga­ tion. Environmental legislation, in particular, has greatly enhanced the rights and powers of organized groups that desire to participate in local development decisions. These powers have allowed citizen groups to block undesired and socially unacceptable projects, such as highways through urban areas and sprawling suburban developments. At the same time, these powers have produced a collective inability to construct many needed projects that produce adverse local impacts. Prisons, airports, hos­ pitals, waste treatment plants, and energy facilities all face years of liti­ gation before a final decision. At times, prolonged litigation has pro­ duced especially high costs to all participants. Despite these new powers, citizen action has often been limited to participation in public hearings or adjudicatory proceedings. Typically, this occurs so late in the decision process that citizen input has very little affect in shaping a project's design. Those who dislike some element of a project often have little choice other than to oppose the entire project through litigation.

Inhalt
1: Why Negotiate or Mediate Development Conflicts?.- Environmental Conflicts: Destructive Battles?.- Negotiated Resolution of Environmental Disputes.- Perspectives on Environmental Negotiation and Mediation.- Conclusion.- 2: Negotiations Can Fail.- Inability of Negotiations to Start.- Agreement Precluded by Preferences and Issues.- Failure of Dispute Structures to Support Bargaining.- Negotiating with the Wrong Individuals or Groups.- Communications Failures.- Conclusion.- 3: Groups in Negotiations.- Varied Settings and Actors in Negotiations.- Membership Structures and a Group's Ability to Bargain.- Skills, Interests, and Powers of Bargainers.- The Range of a Group's Interests and Bargaining Issues.- Conclusion.- 4: Factors in Bargaining That Affect Negotiation and.- Mediation Success.- Cooperative and Competitive Interests in Disputes.- The Method for Recognizing Groups As Legitimate Participants in Negotiations.- The Balance of Resources.- The Periodicity of Negotiations.- The Number of Bargaining Groups.- Deadlines.- Designing Binding Agreements.- Conclusion.- 5: Tactical Aspects of Bargaining and Mediation.- Single-Issue Bargaining Agendas.- Multiple-Issue Bargaining Agendas.- Inappropriate Tactics and Commitments.- Discrete Bargaining Issues.- Conclusion.- 6: Information and Communication, Negotiation, and Mediation.- Information Generates Bargaining PowerSingle-Issue Bargaining.- Information Generates Bargaining PowerMultiple-Issue Bargaining.- Bargaining Communications, Information, and Negotiation Failures.- Tacit Communication and Informal Conferences.- Mediators and Bargaining Communications.- Managing Single-Negotiation-Text Bargaining.- Managing Offer-Counteroffer Bargaining.- Conclusion.- 7: Distrust, Limited Resources, and Uncertainty.-Enforcing Contracts and Supporting Promises.- Subsidizing Settlements.- Designing Agreement to Generate Trust and Overcome Uncertainties.- Designing Alternative Forms of Risk Bearing.- Conclusion.- 8: The Exercise of Negotiator and Mediator Discretion.- Issue Agenda and the Participation of Groups.- Negotiator Discretion.- The Importance of Mediator Discretion.- Checks on Mediator Discretion.- Controlling Discretion in Environmental Negotiations.- Conclusion.- 9: Necessary Elements for Mediation.- Falkland Islands War and Mediation Efforts.- Institutional Setting for Diplomacy.- The Falkland Islands: The Issues and Stakes.- Failures of Leadership.- Embarking on Negotiations, or Mediating a Dispute.- Conclusion.- 10: Using Negotation and Mediation.- The Design of a Formal Negotiation Process.- 11: Conclusion: Prospects for Negotiation.- Process and Outcome Objectives.- Assessment.- Conclusion.- References.