Streams Analysis for Better Air Quality: The German Lead City Program Assessed by the Policy Package Approach and the Multiple Streams Framework

Lisa Schmieder, Dirk Scheer and Chiara Iurato
Additional contact information
Lisa Schmieder: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlstr. 11, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Dirk Scheer: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlstr. 11, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Chiara Iurato: Institute of Environmental Social Sciences and Geography, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: Air pollution caused by traffic and other sources remains a challenge in big cities and urbanized areas in Germany and abroad. Nitrogen dioxide emissions, particulate matter, noise emissions, and ozone are still problematic issues with negative impacts on both the environment and human health. In 2018, the German Federal Government launched the “Lead City Program,” a €130-million fund to support five selected so-called Lead Cities in developing and implementing air quality policies. This article comparatively analyzes the policy-making process and policy content for better air quality in the three (out of five) Lead Cities—Essen, Herrenberg, and Reutlingen. Conceptually, we rely on two theoretical frameworks—the policy package approach (PPA) and the multiple streams framework (MSF). The objective, thus, is an ex-post analysis of policy development by means of two policy science-based concepts. Based on document-based desk research and qualitative interviews with policymakers and stakeholders in each of the three cities, we identified a number of key variables that created a window of opportunity and paved the way for the selection of the policy packages. The resulting five key variables are direct interaction between the different governance levels, long-standing non-compliance with the European Union (EU) NO 2 limit values in many German cities, the resulting European and national infringement proceedings, the diesel scandal, and the Lead City Program as overall multiple stream-coupling facilitators. The results are then discussed regarding the explanatory power of MSF and PPA and the mutual potential linkages these concepts offer for future research.

Keywords: multiple streams framework; policy package approach; transport sector; air quality; Lead City Program (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/3/596/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/3/596/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:596-:d:486524

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().