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Most scholars treat policy transfer as either a dependent or an independent variable without considering discursive components of the policy process and the role of subjective definitions of policy success or failure. This study allows more space for subjective definitions and the perceptions of actors involved in the policy transfer process, and by incorporating an element of social constructivism to the analysis of policy transfer in the European Union (EU) context, it demonstrates how subjective definitions affect policy transfer outcomes and how ‘transfer success’ is subject to competing interpretations. The analytical framework is tested through empirical data from a case study investigation of an EU environmental policy's transfer in Turkey.

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Recent European Union (EU) directives in the environmental fi eld have promoted sustainable development alongside new modes of environmental governance for achieving this elusive goal. These modes are characterised by integrated, participatory and transparent decision-making processes. This paper provides a conceptual clarifi cation of this new environmental governance and then examines the extent to which it is being promoted, through Europeanization, in one of the impending south-eastern enlargement countries, Turkey. Empirical data is taken from an analysis of Turkey's progress in adopting the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive which -potentially at least -embodies features of the new environmental governance. A key fi nding is that there are close links between the adoption of the new modes of environmental governance and the power of 'Europeanization discourses' in national policy making processes, but these are insuffi cient to forge signifi cant changes in inter-sectoral working around environmental issues, or markedly expand opportunities for public participation.

In many countries, inward investment has become a central aim of local development policy and cities have come to be conceived of as the true natural business units in today's economy. However, while some cities have managed to retain a healthy urban core in the face of suburban growth, many others have not. In those cities which could develop in a more sustainable way redevelopment of brownfield properties, in-fill projects, more affordable housing developments, and the move to renovate older homes have been further signs of sustaining development within existing city boundaries. In other cities, the wave of urban construction has failed to deliver sustainable land use and environmental protection as their natural resources and ecosystems have been degraded by modern industrial systems. The comparison of these urban contexts may shed light on governing and planning modes raised by sustainable development. This study addresses spatial and environmental patterns of governance. It questions the relationships between urban governance and planning with an aim to understand why cities cannot be sustainable. To achieve this, it focuses on Istanbul, Turkey where local planning authorities have been carrying out urban transformation projects since the 2000s, and examines how various urban transformations have been perceived and conducted by local planners.