%0 PDF %T Talking the Walk to Sustainable Development: Public Sphere Deliberation and Sustainable Development Policy Outcomes in Mexico. %A Birch, Melissa. %D 2017-04-18T13:53:35.387Z %8 2017-04-18 %R http://localhost/files/q237j4559 %X Abstract: This dissertation investigates the relationship between elements of deliberative democracy and the sustainable development implications of coastal land use policies in Mexico. It seeks to answer the following question: how do the dynamics of public sphere deliberation and participatory transmission mechanisms affect the content of enacted land-use related policies? An examination of the current laws regulating participation in environmental and land use policymaking in Mexico reveals that there are multiple avenues for public participation in policymaking at the federal, state, and municipal levels. The first of three cases - the planning and development of Cancun - is examined using secondary sources. It was characterized by a lack of public deliberation and participation. This was associated with poor environmental and social outcomes. In the second case, discourses are analyzed in the urban development plan for the town of Puerto Morelos. Public sphere discourses are examined by means of an analysis of newspaper articles from two regional newspapers based in Cancun. It is shown that public participation generated ideas for the urban development plan that were beneficial to sustainable development, but these ideas were not incorporated into the final policy, as public officials failed to take the outcomes of participation into account. In the third case, a series of policies regulating mangrove ecosystem protection is examined. Public sphere discourses are analyzed in the form of newspaper articles from two major daily Mexico City newspapers. Government documents associated with the policies are also analyzed. It is found that public participation was associated with greater protection for mangrove ecosystems. The results of the case studies suggest that greater participation - particularly more deliberative participation - leads to policies that are more likely to integrate social and environmental concerns, to make use of local knowledge, to address the concerns of diverse social groups, and to have stronger environmental provision, to the benefit of sustainable development.; Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2011.; Submitted to the Dept. of Diplomacy, History, and Politics.; Advisor: William Moomaw.; Committee: Adil Najam, Ann Helwege, and Kent Portney.; Keywords: Sustainability, and Political Science. %[ 2022-10-12 %9 Text %~ Tufts Digital Library %W Institution