Tom Durning recommends this very readable report:
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And adds:
Some of the parallels with Metro Vancouver’s fractured regional government are obvious, especially in relation to housing and transportation. I trust the Bay area is beginning to realize this.
In California, the State government is not afraid to mandate regional cooperation if it is in the area’s interest. In Metro Vancouver, we have large municipalities with a hamlet mentality. Historically, the Provincial government has been letting the ‘tails wag the dog’, regardless of who is in power. A ‘mother’ afraid of her children. Metro Vancouver municipalities have no real constitutional power when it comes to exerting their ‘powers’.
We’ll be spinning our wheels when it comes to sustainability, transportation and housing until the Provincial government exerts some of its powers and makes sure more oars are in the water.
Not in agreement on that. Regional mayors, in large and small municipalities, have frequently demonstrated their ability to achieve regional consensus – when required. Debate, yes, and often disagreement. But in the end, because the regional plans and utilities require almost unanimous consent, it has been achieved.
No, the region has never pulled together on economic or cultural strategies, but that would be an expansion of powers for Metro, and the need to share funding. And the Province could provide some ‘motivation. ‘ But that shouldn’t detract from the effectiveness of the federation model and the regional achievements.
