Interlocal Cooperation and Urban Problems

Abstract

Between 1960 and 1975, federal involvement in urban affairs expanded exponentially, but the influx of federal dollars and programs failed to resolve the "urban predicament." President Reagan set out to shift responsibility for urban problems to the states and to local governments themselves. The change in federal policy raises the following question: Can urban problems be solved by local governments themselves, or is a strong federal presence necessary? The Housing and Community Development Act provides an opportunity to compare both strategies, because it offered urban communities interlocal cooperation and direct federal intervention as alternative means for allocating housing assistance in participating metropolitan areas. Based on a representative sample of 26 metropolitan regions, this analysis showed that interlocal cooperation is a less than effective substitute for federal intervention. In this respect the data suggest that local governments are no different from other jurisdictions given the freedom to act independently. In the metropolitan arena, as in the international and interstate domains, in the absence of sanctions or incentives from higher authorities, communities find themselves able to cooperate when the benefits are shared or the costs hidden, but unable to do so otherwise.