Regional Governance and Metropolitan Social Policy

Regional governance is a very sticky situation. There are both regional and local needs that need to be considered for the entire region. There are top-down and bottom-up approaches needed to help make the metropolitan area flow efficiently and effectively. The federal, state, region, and municipal levels of government all play a role in the decision making. As global competition increases, the strengthening of our metropolitan areas in our country will be the tipping point. It will lead to perpetual growth and prosperity or a route of catastrophic disaster.

The top-down approach includes the federal and state government. These upper governmental structures need to give permission and responsibility to the regional and local planning commissions. Currently, the federal government is not a consistent supporter of metropolitan social policy or advocate of localism (Foster, 2001). The main point is that the federal and state authorities need to give the regions, counties, and cities the permission to address conflicts that are beneficial at the local level. Most local populations have enough innovative ideas and resources to get the city and region organized in a way they want to be represented. No local entity or region wants to be controlled by the state or national government because then lobbyists have an opportunity to influence the decision-making for that region. Most importantly, we need more of a regional and metropolitan perspective rather than an upper authority to attack uneven development patterns and social equity that is specific for that particular region. The federal and state governments need to provide proper funding to these local regions, but also need to understand the plan of attack these locations have in mind.

The flip side of top-down is bottom-up leadership. There is a need for traditional local leadership and city-regional collaboration to make metropolitan social policy work efficiently. If the higher up governments give the smaller local and regional government’s leeway the local and regional governments need to embrace integrity and responsibility in their decision making (Bhattacharjee et al 2014). If higher authorities work diligently to draft up advanced plans for the region with the local municipalities they would be in the clear. Currently, local governments have limited ability to plan for social change. The higher authorities don’t have all the details needed to make an educated decision for a specific community. Big picture thinking is needed along with strategic planning from local entities. Local communities understand the needs and wants for their metropolis to thrive.

In the end, both top-down and bottom-up approaches need to work together to communicate and give permission when conflicts arise. Territorial structures will be the biggest influence on regional governance. What is needed most includes a vision and system in place that will help hand off power to each level of government in an efficient and quick process. Regional governance is the new innovative way to help cities and its surroundings survive even if part of the country is struggling elsewhere. As competitive globalism continues to thrive we must adjust our power to more regional entities rather than our state and federal governments. Federalism is what made America great and it needs to be continually implemented for the regions and municipalities in order to have a prosperous future.

As our book puts it best “Without metropolitan coordination, and lacking support from higher levels of government, cities simply do not possess the resources they need to address commanding problems of everyday life. At some point in the future, national leaders must provide the vision necessary to share responsibility for regional concerns at the federal and state levels. Until then, the quality of life is not only in central cities, but across metropolitan regions as a whole will be dependent on the well-being of local business concerns within an increasingly competitive global economy.” (Gottdiener et al 2014).

Foster, Kathryn Ann. Regionalism on Purpose. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2001. Print.

Gottdiener, Mark, Ray Hutchison, and Michael T. Ryan. The New Urban Sociology. 5th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2014. Print

Jonas, Andrew E., Andrew R. Goetz, and Sutapa Bhattacharjee. "City-Regionalism as a Politic Collective Provision." Urban Studies 51.11 (2014): 2444-2465. Web. 1 Mar. 2016