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The Risk of Regional Governance

Cultural Theory and Interlocal Cooperation

Thomas Skuzinski author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:16th Jul '19

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The Risk of Regional Governance cover

Creating metropolitan regions that are more efficient, equitable, and sustainable depends on the willingness of local officials to work together across municipal boundaries to solve large-scale problems. How do these local officials think? Why do they only sometimes cooperate? What kind of governance do they choose in the face of persistent problems?

The Risk of Regional Governance offers a new perspective on these questions. Drawing on theory from sociology and anthropology, it argues that many of the most important cooperative decisions local officials make—those about land use planning and regulation—are driven by heuristic, biased reasoning driven by cultural values. The Risk of Regional Governance builds a sociocultural collective action framework, and supports it with rich survey and interview data from hundreds of local elected officials serving in the suburbs of Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is a story of the Rust Belt, of how local officials think about their community and the region, and—most importantly—of how we might craft policies that can overcome biases against regional governance.

'Thomas Skuzinski uses a study of local government land use planning in Michigan, specifically the metropolitan areas of Grand Rapids and Detroit, to make a compelling argument for a new approach to understanding regional governance. He applies his sociocultural collective action framework to analyze social and cultural factors to understand why political and civic leaders engage in, or avoid engagement in, local cooperative and collaborative governance processes. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on regional governance.'- David K. Hamilton, Director of the Center for Public Service, Texas Tech University

'Skuzinski’s work opens a promising avenue to explore the challenges and opportunities for interlocal collaboration and more effective regional governance. Beyond more evidence that agreements and consolidations are not all about the costs, his sociocultural collective action model advocates a theoretical turn that may nurture more politically viable structural reforms for a variety of public services.'- Kurt Thurmaier, Presidential Engagement Professor and Chair, Northern Illinois University

ISBN: 9780367371982

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 380g

184 pages