Alternative Models for Managing Metropolitan Regions: the Challenge for North American Cities

Regional governments in general, and metropolitan governments in particular, are under threat almost everywhere. Despite an apparent increase in the level of awareness of and the need for region-wide co-operation, revenue sharing and direct political accountability within metropolitan regions, the few formal metropolitan governments that do exist to meet these needs are in retreat. This paper reviews the theories and arguments for and against different forms of metropolitan governance with respect to systems of government, service delivery and development regulation and outlines the factors that are adding to the need to rethink the organization of metropolitan areas. It then describes a range of alternative models of metropolitan government organization, with examples drawn from urban areas in the U.S. and Canada, and proposes a set of criteria for evaluating those alternatives. As a case study the paper then focuses on recent events in Toronto and the factors which led to the demise of the original metropolitan government. The analysis assesses the consequences of this political reorganization and then speculates on whether this is the end of metropolitan government in Toronto or simply a transition stage to a new form of regional governance at an even larger spatial scale. In concluding the paper identifies some of the lessons learned from the North American urban situation in general and from the Toronto experience in particular.