Regional Governance

Regional governance comprises a system of structures, institutions, and processes through which groups organize and act to pursue purposes at the regional scale. Broader than regional government, with which it is sometimes confused, regional governance involves actions by formal units of government, such as municipalities, counties, states, and provinces, and by private entities (e.g., individuals, firms, business associations) and third-sector groups (e.g., nongovernmental organizations, civic groups, labor, faith-based associations). Often, this occurs through partnerships or associations with one another. As a focus of urban study, regional governance has garnered special attention during several eras of metropolitan change in the twentieth century and is currently a subject of active interest and commentary in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Because region refers to a wide range of territories, the scale of regional governance varies. The label region may denote a small group of communities (e.g., East Bay towns), a city and its surrounding metropolitan area (the San Francisco metropolitan area), a subnational territory (the Pacific Coast region), or a multinational territory (the Pacific Rim). In the context of urban studies, regional governance usually refers to metropolitan-scale governance.

The need for regional governance originates in the mismatch between the scale of policy issues and the scale of formal political units to address those issues. Many urban concerns—such as economic development, environmental protection, traffic, urban growth, public health, workforce training and mobility, the quantity and distribution of affordable housing, infrastructure development, public safety, spreading poverty, and social equity— transcend the borders of municipal government and create impacts (“externalities”) that defy resolution by a single unit of government.

For example, protection of a region-scale environmental resource such as a watershed may occur through the organization and action of multiple groups, including local, state, provincial, and national governments; special-purpose water authorities or natural resources districts; nongovernmental interest groups such as a local parks conservancy or branch of an international environmental organization, such as the Sierra Club; and private interests, including individual property owners, land developers, a fishing club, or homeowners associations. Groups involved in regional governance may operate together through formal or informal agreements, or they may operate independently, sometimes in opposition to one another. Regional governance is also shaped by state and federal policies, rules, and incentives that direct or influence how regional actors operate. Also playing a role in regional governance are media, whose commentary on regional affairs shape popular understanding and influence action.