This article compares the opposite fates of two voluntary regional councils in similar substate regions of Michigan and evaluates their effectiveness as planning mechanisms of the new regionalism. Organizational development strategies and consensus building drove the survival and partial success of one council but reduced its policy effectiveness. A climate of mistrust emanating from virulent localism and idiosyncratic events undercut the other council’s organizational capacity and policy effectiveness and led to its demise. Implications of these cases as “weak” examples of new regionalism are discussed.
Atkins, Patricia. S.1993. From the mauling to the malling of regionalism. Public Administration Review53(6): 583-586.
2.
Atkins, Patricia S., and Laura Wilson-Gentry. 1992. An etiquette for the 1990s regional council. National Civic Review81 (4): 466-487.
3.
Baldassare, Mark, Joshua Hassol, William Hoffman, and Abby Kanarek. 1996. Possible planning roles for regional government. Journal of the American Planning Association62 (1): 17-29.
4.
Bollens, Scott A.1997. Fragments of regionalism: The limits of southern California governance. Journal of Urban Affairs19 (1): 105-122.
5.
Bowman, A., and J. Frank. 1984. The decline of substate regionalism. Journal of Urban Affairs6 (4): 51-63.
6.
Browne, William P., and Kenneth VerBurg. 1995. Michigan politics and government: Facing change in a complex state. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
7.
Dodge, William R.1996. Regional excellence: Governing together to compete globally and flourish locally. Washington, DC: National League of Cities.
8.
Downs, Anthony. 1994. New visions for metropolitan America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Frederickson, H. George. 1999. The repositioning of American public administration. PS32 (December): 701-711.
11.
Fulton, William, and Morris Newman. 1992. When COGs collide. Planning58 (6): 9-13.
12.
Gainsborough, Juliet F.2001. Bridging the city-suburb divide: States and the politics of regional cooperation. Journal of Urban Affairs23 (5): 497-512.
13.
Goldman, Todd, and Elizabeth Deakin. 2000. Regionalism through partnership? Metropolitan planning since ISTEA. Berkeley Planning Journal14:46-75.
14.
Grell, Jan, and Gary Gappert. 1993. The new civic infrastructure: Intersectoral collaboration and the decision-making process. National Civic Review82 (2): 140-147.
15.
Grigsby, J. Eugene. 1996. Regional governance and regional councils. National Civic Review85 (2): 53-58.
16.
Hahn, Alan, and Cynthia Dyballa. 1981. State environmental planning and local influence. Journal of the American Planning Association47 (3): 324-329.
17.
Hamilton, David A.2000. Organizing government structure and functions in metropolitan areas in response to growth and change: A critical overview. Journal of Urban Affairs22 (1): 65-84.
18.
Hamilton, David A.2002a. Regimes and regional governance: The case of Chicago. Journal of Urban Affairs24 (4): 403-423.
19.
Hamilton, David A.2002b. Regionalism in metropolitan Chicago: A work in progress. National Civic Review91 (1): 63-80.
20.
Johnson, William C., and John J. Harrigan. 1987. Political stress and metropolitan government: The twin cities experience. State and Local Government Review19 (3): 108-113.
21.
Kadlecek, James M.1997. Cooperation among local governments. National Civic Review86 (2): 175-179.
22.
Kanarek, Abby, and Mark Baldassare. 1996. Preferences for state and regional planning efforts among California mayors and city planning directors. Journal of Planning Education and Research16 (2): 93-102.
23.
Keil, Roger. 2000. Governance restructuring in Los Angeles and Toronto: Amalgamation or succession?Journal of Urban and Regional Research24 (4): 758-781.
24.
Leo, Christopher. 1998. Regional growth management regime: The case of Portland, Oregon. Journal of Urban Affairs20 (4): 363-394.
25.
Lindstrom, Bonnie. 1998. Regional cooperation and sustainable growth: Nine councils of government in northeastern Illinois. Journal of Urban Affairs20 (3): 327-342.
26.
Naudi, James. 2000. Sprawling concerns: A decade after its creation, debate rages about Metro’s impact. Grand Rapids Press, October 8, pp. B1, B5.
27.
Neenan, W. B., and M. E. Ethridge. 1984. Competition and cooperation among localities. In Urban economic development, ed. R. D. Bingham and J. D. Blair, 175-190. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
28.
Norris, Donald F.1994. Killing a COG: The death and reincarnation of the Baltimore regional council of governments. Journal of Urban Affairs16 (2): 155-167.
29.
Norris, Donald F.. 2001. Prospects for regional governance under the new regionalism: Economic imperatives versus political impediments. Journal of Urban Affairs23 (5): 557-571.
30.
Nunn, Samuel, and Mark S. Rosentraub. 1997. Dimensions of inter-jurisdictional cooperation. Journal of the American Planning Association63 (2): 205-219.
31.
Ohren, J., ed. 2000. The future of local government in Michigan: Proceedings of a symposium. Lansing: Michigan Municipal League Foundation.
32.
Orfield, Myron. 1997. Metropolitics: A regional agenda for community and stability. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution/Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
33.
Orfield, Myron. 2002. American metropolitics: The new suburban reality. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
34.
Park, Keeok. 1997. Friends and competitors: policy interactions between local governments in metropolitan areas. Political Research Quarterly50 (4): 723-750.
35.
Parks, Roger B., and Ronald J. Oakerson. 1989. Metropolitan organization and governance: A local public economy approach. Urban Affairs Quarterly25 (1): 18-29.
36.
Parks, Roger B., and Ronald J. Oakerson. 2000. Regionalism, localism and metropolitan governance: Suggestions from the research program on local public economies. State and Local Government Review32 (3): 169-179.
37.
Putnam, Robert D.1993a. Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
38.
Putnam, Robert D.. 1993b. What makes democracy work?National Civic Review82 (2): 101-107.
39.
Savitch, Hank V., and Ronald K. Vogel. 1996. Perspectives for the present and lessons for the future. In Regional politics: America in a post-city age, ed. Hank V. Savitch and Ronald K. Vogel, 275-302. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
40.
Savitch, Hank V., and Ronald K. Vogel. 2000. Paths to new regionalism. State and Local Government Review32 (3): 158-168.
41.
Swanstrom, Todd. 2001. What we argue about when we argue about regionalism. Journal of Urban Affairs23 (5): 479-496.
42.
Visser, J. A.2002. Understanding local government cooperation in urban regions: Toward a cultural model of interlocal relations. American Review of Public Administration32 (1): 40-65.
43.
Vogel, Ronald K., and Norman Nezeklewicz. 2002. Metropolitan planning organizations and the new Regionalism: The case of Louisville. Publius: The Journal of Federalism32 (1): 107-129.
44.
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. 2003. West Michigan Regional Database, http://www.upjohninst.org./regional/database/ (accessed June 12, 2003).
45.
Wallis, Allan. D.1993. Governance and the civic infrastructure of urban regions. National Civic Review82 (2): 125-139.
46.
Wallis, Allan. D.. 1994a. Inventing regionalism: The first two waves. National Civic Review83 (2): 159-175.
47.
Wallis, Allan. D.. 1994b. The third wave: Current trends in regional governance. National Civic Review83 (3): 290-310.
48.
Williams, Oliver P.1968. Life-style values and political decentralization in metropolitan areas. In Community structure and decision-making: Comparative analysis, ed. Terry N. Clark, 427-440. San Francisco: Chandler.
