Explaining the adoption and implementation of local environmental policies in the United States

Using a large national sample of U.S. cities the authors create an environmental policy index to explore the factors that explain the adoption and implementation of environmental policies at the local level. Using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate methods, these data indicate that cities with higher populations, more highly educated citizens, higher percentages of Hispanic residents, located in the West (and more specifically California), and that are central cities are more likely to engage in environmental policies. Furthermore, this article finds evidence of differences in engagement based upon the subarea of environmental protection examined.