Environmental policy and civic participation in Russian megacities: Achievements and challenges from the perspective of urban stakeholders

Abstract

Based on the analysis of documents, a series of expert interviews with different city stakeholders (n = 60), and a representative survey of the population of the cities of Moscow and Kazan (n = 1500), the authors provide insights on the main difficulties and achievements of environmental policy in large Russian megacities. The use of imitation approach permitted an analysis of environmental policy in two cities as a series of simulacrums: urban elites simulate the involvement of the population in the urban agenda, citizens simulate interest in such activities. Despite the strengthening of the environmental component in the strategic development goals of the Russian cities, in practice, the policy pursued provides only an imitational improvement of the environmental situation. The main problem in both cities is the ambiguity of environmental legislation provisions, the disorganized interdepartmental interaction of authorized bodies in making and implementing managerial decisions, as well as the almost complete exclusion of professional ecologists and members of the public from this process. The opinions of Moscow experts on their inclusion in environmental decisions are divided: some believe that environmentalists are not involved in this process, and others that all decisions are peer-reviewed; while in Kazan, the first group of sceptics meets more support. According to the group of sceptics, their role in the environmental policy of cities, as well as the entire process of organizing civic participation, is of a symbolic performative nature, and is deliberately orchestrated by political elites. The authors make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of environmental policy in cities and involving various groups of the population in the decision-making process on social and environmental issues.