Regionalism and Realism: A Study of Governments in the New York Metropolitan Area

by Gerald Benjamin, Richard P. Nathan

Overview

"Drawing on the history of state and local government in the New York Tri-State metropolitan region, the authors present a pathbreaking new theory about the values reformers must understand and balance in order to tackle the hard challenges of reforming and regionalizing local governance in the complex, dynamic world of American politics and public policy. Their examination of the way 2,179 local governments in the Tri-State region have evolved over more than a century pays special attention to New York City, but is applicable to other metropolitan areas. It brings to life ideas that are crucial to a subject that in the academic literature is often treated in a way that is abstract and hard to grasp. This is a valuable book for scholars, political leaders, and students interested in regionalism in metropolitan America and in the fascinating history and governance of the nation's largest city and its vast metropolitan region.

"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815700876
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/01/2001
Series:	Century Foundation Books (Brookings Paperback)
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

"Gerald Benjamin is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of political science at the State University College at New Paltz. Richard P. Nathan is professor of political science and public policy at the State University of New York, Albany. He also serves as director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and as provost of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the university."

Table of Contents

Part 1	Understanding Regionalism
1	The New York Region: 2,179 Governments	3
	New York City and the Region	4
	Web of Local Governments: Origins and Consequences	8
	Variations in Local Government	10
	Special Burdens on Cities	12
	Costs of Fragmentation and Layering	17
	Special-Purpose Governments	22
	Details and the Big Picture	26
	Approaches to Realism in the Tri-State Region	27
2	The Values of Regionalism	33
	Persistence of Governmental Boundaries	35
	Four Values of Regionalism	38
	Redistributive Metropolitanism: Seeking Equity	40
	Functional Regionalism: Achieving Efficiency	44
	Economic Regionalism: Assuring Competitiveness	47
Part 2	Regionalism And The New York City Experience
3	One Grand and Glorious City	53
	The Vision: Development and Efficiency	54
	The Power: Development and Spoils	56
	The Loser: Smaller-Scale Government	58
	Centralizers versus Decentralizers: Revolt of the Boroughs	60
	Functional Regionalism and Recentralization of Power	64
	Recentralization of the Schools	67
	Community, Equity, and Community Boards	70
	Conclusion: Metropolitanism Subsumes Localism	74
4	Creating Real Local Government in New York City	77
	The "City" of Staten Island	79
	Business Improvement Districts	81
	Suggested Agenda for a New Charter Commission	85
5	The Limits of Metropolitanism	91
	Limits of Metropolises as Local Governments	92
	Rigidity of Newly Created Metropolitan Boundaries	102
	Interstate Metropolitan Government: An Orphan in the Federal System	105
	Rivalries within and among States	107
	Goals versus Reality	110
Part 3	Functional Regionalism
6	Across State Lines: The Port Authority	115
	A Regional or Two-State Agency?	118
	A Bi-State, Not a Regional, Agency	132
7	Single-State Agencies: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New Jersey Transit	135
	Governmentalization of Mass Transit	137
	Market Failure and the Evolution of Regional Mass Transit	139
	MTA and the Politics of Geographical Equity	146
	A Single Transportation Agency for the Tri-State Region?	152
	Framework for a Single Regional Agency	155
Part 4	The Regional Idea In Subregional Settings
8	The Persistence of Suburban Localism	161
	Eliminating an Entire Class of Local Governments	166
	State Incentives for Change: School Consolidation	168
	The Issue of Race	173
	Structural Change Does Not Work	175
9	Two Approaches: Bottom Up and Top Down	178
	Bottom-Up Approach	179
	Top-Down Approach	193
	Conclusions	221
Part 5	The Nation In The Regional Arena
10	The Case of Solid Waste	227
	Flow Control, Federalism, and Privatization	229
	New Jersey: Relying on the Counties	230
	Connecticut: Creating a State Authority and Making Burning Work	234
	Connecticut and New Jersey Compared: Structure Makes a Difference	239
	National and Private Sector Responsibility for Solid Waste	241
	Regionalism: To What End? For What Price?	248
	The Trade-Off: Community versus Efficiency	250
Part 6	Conclusion
11	Lessons for the Future	255
	Understanding the Values of Regionalism	256
	Regionalism and State Government	259
	Regionalism and Local Government	262
	The Politics of Regionalism	265
	Notes	269
	Index	301