Geography 4742 Land Use Analysis

Sprawl: The Fixes

Chap 14: Regionalism

As a geographer I see "Regional thinking, planning and governance" good for lots of reasons, not just sprawl. Though I admit that government in the US has shied away from regional forms that we geographers prescribe and dream of.

There are a few regional entities working on land use, with some common tools in their box:

UGBs

Tax sharing

Reducing Annexation wars, surprises

Dealing with relation of Growth areas and Declining areas

First, though, Gillham assesses the current ability of metro areas to grow. They use:

Annexation and consolidation.

Annexation really only feasible in the Midwest and West, where the "Elastic cities" can annex to allow for growth, expanded tax base, etc. Elsewhere some grow by consolidating with the county (or other cities).

But many metro areas are "land locked" by suburban cities, with some of whom they simply do not get along! In some of these cases, some form of regional cooperation, if not outright regional government, has emerged.

A Problem: how to structure/control regional government? Should cities and counties give up powers? They are loath to do so. Should the central city be in charge?

Two general forms:

Metro-government with real powers or some form of cooperative "Regional Council of Governments" (like DRCOG( with limited power

Special districts

What do regional governments do?

The most typical role is for regional coordination of transportation: the logic is sound, with roads and fixed transit, and the local entities benefit more from cooperating than from competing.

Regional tax sharing: This is pretty rare, but it lessens the competition for tax base that can worsen sprawl. Often from new suburbs to old suburbs, needed by increase social needs where tax base decreases (old areas). May also be among suburbs. Has been suggested in some resort areas where high-value places (like Vail) force workers to live in low value places like Leadville. Leadville needs services, but has little tax base. This talk has not yet created a tax sharing plan to my knowledge.)

Regional growth control: This is the main reason for bringing up regional forms of government in this context. The obvious approach here is regional UGBs, which could not work in a piecemeal fashion. Strong regional UGB with enforcement are very rare. Required by law in Oregon, and drove the formation of Portland’s Metro.

UBGs are mostly voluntary outside Oregon; DRCOG has one, but it is simply a voluntary agreement by the entities to effect the UGB in their own comp plans. Results remain to be seen, but I expect little effect except those few communities that have the most citizen pressure and or political will for limiting growth, like Boulder.

Cases:

Columbia Regional Assoc of Governments and Metro

Metro has created a firm UGB via state law: but some problems: there is sprawl w/I the UGB because of anti-density attitudes in neighborhoods. Also, Gillham reviews the argument that it causes unnecessary rise in home prices, but he’s unconvinced (e.g., areas w/o UGBs rose faster, ets.—this is a great topic for a searching, critical review of the evidence). Randall O’Toole (additional reading) says that not only is Metro’s land sue planning an unconstitutional form of government that tells people where they must live, but it also has the problem analyzed wrong in the first place (and he says it does press up home prices despite the mixed evidence).

Minneapolis/St Paul:

Unusual case of regional tax haring

Also sues a metro urban services area/district to control growth.

Atlanta: regional; transportation district (GRTA)

Typical in the sense that this regional entity is forced by federal rules on air pollution and federla money allocations for transportation (same for DRCOG), but unusual in its legislative mandated role of linking and affecting land use to transportation. Does re-development, TOD, mixed use, etc. within comp regional transport plan.

New York/Regional Plan Association

An NGO that attacks a region’s growth problems without any regional government, and w/o any power. Works with ideas, studies, plans, and lobbying, also acts as a networker among planning officials in the region—that alone seems useful.