Improving Air Quality in Border Regions. A case study of effective implementation of a low emission zone in Maastricht.

Abstract

Air quality is an increasingly important topic. On many levels steps have been taken to improve air quality. The European Union has set air quality standards, the World Health Organization has created air quality guidelines and many governments, national as local, have been working on the creation of policies to improve air quality. Border regions have to find ways to effectively implement national policy goals on air quality. This is made difficult by the challenges border regions face, challenges which are mostly different from those of other geographical regions. In this research the effective implementation of Dutch national air quality goals in border regions is investigated. This is done via a case study of the implementation of a low emission zone in the municipality of Maastricht. By using the theories of multi-level governance and policy diffusion and the creation of a model to analyse the effectiveness of the different available policy options, the effective implementation of a low emission zone is researched. This research concludes that the alignment of national demands and local needs in the development of policy in border regions is essential in order to effectively implement national policy goals in border regions. Territorial cohesion is needed for effective policy implementation in border regions. Only in that way air quality in border regions can be effectively improved.