After a period of relative silence, recent years have been marked by an upswing of interest in environmental issues. The publication of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development on 'Our Common Future' (1987) has acted as a catalyst for a revival of the environmental awareness, not only regarding local and daily pollution problems, but also -and in particular- regarding global environmental decay and threats to a sustainable development. In a recent study by W.M. Stigliani et al., on 'Future Environments for Europe' (Executive Rep~rt 15, IIASA, Laxenburg, 1989) the environmental implications of various alternative socioeconomic development pathways with respect to eleven environmental issues that could become major problems in the future are analysed. These issues include: Managing water resources in an era of climate change. Acidification of soils and lakes in Europe. Long-term forestry management and the possibility of a future shortfall in wood supply. Areas of Europe marginalized by mainstream economic and agricultural development. Sea level rise. Chemical pollution of coastal waters. Toxic materials buildup and the potential for chemical time bombs. Non-point-source emissions of potentially toxic substances. Transportation growth versus air quality. Decreasing multi-functionally of land owing to urban and suburban land development. Increasing summer demand for electricity, and the impact on air quality.

For an increasing number of hospitals and universities the institutional review board (lRB) has become a way of life. Spurred into existence by public outcries about the unethical nature of certain modern scientific experiments, the IRB represents the most visible evidence of institutional commitment to ethical review of clinical research. However, this exponential growth of IRB activities has not occurred without growing pains. Like the Environmental Protection Agency, IRBs have had to develop procedures and standards without a clear consensus as to what would be optimal for science and society. Each IRB has perforce devised its own modus operandi, subject to general principles and guidelines laid down by others but still relatively free to stipulate the details of its functioning. Thus one can applaud the general idea as well as the overall performance of IRBs without asserting that the millenium has arrived. The composition, philosophy, efficiency, responsibilities, and powers of IRBs remain topics suit­ able for debate. It is still possible (and appropriate) for IRB members to worry both about the propriety of their decisions and the personal costs of their service.

Much of the preparation of this book has been generously supported by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It evolved from a colloquium held in October 1977, under the sponsorship of the Lincoln Institute. The three-day symposium entitled "Land Policy: Making the Value Choices" involved the preparation of major papers and formal discussions, most of which appear here in considerably revised form, along with additional pieces commis­ sioned later. The colloquium was an idea jointly conceived by myself and Edward Wood, a colleague at the time in the Tufts University Program in Urban Social and Environmental Policy. We were concerned about two major limitations in the literature and debates over land use. On the one hand, there was little explicit recognition of the latent values that motivated land use policy. On the other, there was no common forum where people from the different land use fields could discuss the issues and learn from one another. A small group of about two dozen people was invited to the colloquium. Each member was a leading spokesman for a different perspective and area of expertise. All participated formally in some fashion. All the papers were written expressly for the col­ loquium, with the exception of Ann Strong's, which was a keynote address to the American Society of Planning Officials earlier in the year. None of the papers has been published elsewhere.

The essays in this volume evolved from two conferences, both of which focused on issues relating to managing urban decline, the first titled "Alternate Futures for Older Metropolitan Regions" held at Youngstown State University and the University of Akron in May, 1978, and the second titled "Managing Mature Cities" held at the Cincinnati Convention Center in June, 1978; the authors offer several perspectives on the aging of older metropolitan regions, suggesting that aging need not be synonymous with decline and that slow-growth or no-growth offers opportunities for improving the quality of life for city residents.