- The Southern California Regional Government and the Search for Alternatives    914 kb by    Juloya, Dino & Hack, Starla & Young, Lisa | dinojuloya@yahoo.com    Short Outline This paper evaluates possible alternatives to the current form of regional government in Southern California. Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is unable to develop land-use regional plans and policies. As a result, their authority and role in coordinating and influencing regional planning is limited. We investigate four other forms of regional governments in North America, to determine which form of regional government would be a sufficient alternative to SCAG. Abstract What makes it interesting for participants? This paper contributes to the theme of the Congress by adding to the answer/s of what planning is needed to govern global cities/regions. Its exploration of five regional government and how each responds to the needs of their constituents can be of a valuable lesson for participants This paper evaluates possible alternatives to the current form of regional government in Southern California. Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is unable to develop land-use regional plans and policies. As a result, their authority and role in coordinating and influencing regional planning is limited. We investigate four other forms of regional governments in North America, to determine which form of regional government would be a sufficient alternative to SCAG. We begin by explaining the current function of SCAG and the limitations that exist. SCAG provides information to influence and shape the decisions of local and county governments. However, SCAG does not have actual land-use authority to force implementation of their policies. They are therefore, seeking this additional authority, so they may have direct power over regional land use and planning in Southern California. An assumption is made that Smart Growth is the overall agenda we are striving for. ''The common thread among different perspectives of smart growth is development that revitalizes central cities and older suburbs, supports and enhances public transit and preserves open spaces and agricultural lands. Smart growth is not no growth; rather it creates communities that are more livable by developing efficiently within the already built environment.'' This basis of smart growth is used to determine the evaluation criteria that will be utilized in measuring the various alternatives. The evaluation criteria are Community and Stakeholder Collaboration, Fostering a Distinctive and Strong Sense of Place, Environmental Protection/ Preserving Open Space, Strengthening and Directing Development Toward Existing Communities, Political Viability and Administrative Operability. Each criterion is explained in detail regarding its relationship to the different regional government alternatives. Each evaluation criteria has been operationalized into three measures. To analyze the various alternatives against the established criteria, we determine how many of the three measures each alternative meets. The highest score reflects the alternative form of government that best meets the criteria of smart growth, political viability and administrative operability. Two different forms of scoring/ranking were used to verify the result. Finally, monitoring of the preferred alternative is discussed. Keywords Southern California Region Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2003: Planning in a more globalized World   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper