Governing Metropolitan Areas in the 21st Century Myron Orfield

Metropolitan areas are the competitive unit in the modern global economy. Location decisions are based on evaluations of entire metropolitan housing and labor markets and transportation systems Policies to enhance the local characteristics with the greatest impacts on economic competitiveness must be regional in scope Transportation/Congestion Quality of the labor force Quality of life Environment and amenities

Despite this, policy decisions in most metropolitan areas are rarely made at regional scales. Highly fragmented local governance systems are the norm, leading to a variety of inefficiencies and inequities. Current and on-going stimulus packages represent an enormous opportunity to promote regional governance systems.

Fragmentation is inefficient Zero-sum competition unnecessary public subsidies and uneven growth patterns Duplication of administrative functions Lack of economies of scale (e.g. water treatment) Spillovers inappropriate incentives in Land use planning/sprawl/environment Housing/affordability/segregation Transportation/transit/vehicles miles traveled Economic development/clustering/fiscal competition

Regional Governance and economic/social outcomes The two regions with the most highly-developed multi-purpose regional governments—the Twin Cities and Portland—fare better than expected in a variety of economic and social measures

Fragmentation and Sprawl More fragmented local governance Higher ratio of urbanized land growth to population growth But the Twin Cities fares best among highly-fragmented large metros and Portland fares among the best of the less-fragmented metros

Fragmentation and Segregation More fragmented local governance Greater degree of housing segregation But the Twin Cities fares best among highly-fragmented large metros and Portland fares best among less-fragmented metros

Fragmentation and Fiscal Inequality More fragmented local governance Greater degree of inequality in local fiscal capacities But the Twin Cities fares best among the highly-fragmented large metros and Portland fares among the best of the less-fragmented metros

Fragmentation and Job Growth More fragmented local governance Slower job growth But the Twin Cities fares best among highly-fragmented large metros and Portland is among the best of the less-fragmented metros

The Change in administrations and the on-going economic stimulus packages create the opportunity to encourage more active regional governments by tying funding to policies and outcomes in several important dimensions: Land use Segregation Job clustering Affordable housing in high-opportunity areas Fiscal equity Vehicle miles traveled

Institutional Options Metropolitan Planning Organizations already exist in metropolitan areas across the country and their institutional form is highly flexible. They therefore represent the most viable starting point for creating regional multi-purpose governments. Councils of Governments and county-level organizations rarely provide reasonable alternatives.

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