Application of American Land Use and Environmental Planning Techniques to Environmental Recovery in Emerging Economies: Fundamental Foundations from the New World to the Old

As we move into the twentieth century, environmental problems continue to receive a great deal of international attention and concern. It is recognized that the ongoing degradation of the world's natural resources combined with pollution and other environmental problems threatens the well being of us all. This article begins by exploring a number of regional environmental problems and looks particularly at the decay of the world's urban centers. An examination of the development of the planning process employed modernly in the United States follows.

The authors propose that the application of the American land use planning techniques may lessen the environmental problems faced by the world's urban centers and that planning can play a substantial role in the remediation of environmental problems. In addition, the use of the planning techniques discussed by emerging economic regions, such as portions of Eastern Europe and Asia, will provide protection for the environment and natural resources without stifling the emerging communities economic development.