Policymaking from Below: The Role of Environmental Inspectors and Publics

Discussions of policymaking frequently focus on officials operating at the upper echelons of the process and rarely consider individuals on the ground level, despite them having great potential to contribute to the policymaking process. In particular, this paper focuses on environmental compliance inspectors and participatory publics. We argue that the marginalization of these two groups is detrimental to our thoughtful collective understanding of environmental policy and protection in the U.S. Our argument is grounded in a discussion of deliberative democracy and the public sphere. We maintain that greater inclusion of these two groups could be achieved by considering their important roles in boundary spanning and social capital development.