Environmental Equity in the Vicinity of Amsterdam Airport: The Interplay between Market Forces and Government Policy

摘要

This paper examines the impact of the interplay between market forces and government policy on environmental equity in the vicinity of Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands. Despite pressure on space and the presence of the international airport, exposure to the higher levels of traffic noise, NO{sub}2 and external safety risks, and accumulation of traffic noise and NO{sub}2 ('bads') was rather limited and generally distributed fairly equally among income categories, probably as a result of environmental regulations. However, lower-income categories had less access to lower levels of traffic noise, NO{sub}2 and public green space ('goods') than higher-income categories, which may be explained by both historical processes and market forces. Policy makers seem to accept a higher environmental burden on the regional population because of the benefits for the national economy generated by Amsterdam Airport.