Counties and land-use regionalism: Models of growth governance

ABSTRACT This article examines the contrasting roles of county government in state and regional growth management programs in the United States, and focuses on the potential utility of citizen-inspired land-use regionalism in stimulating county home-rule and modernization efforts. Two types of county involvement in intergovernmental growth management programs are discussed--a subordinated implementation function in “top-down” state growth programs, and an empowered role in “bottom-up” regionalism wherein county governments are key participants and mediators in the formulation of regional growth policy. A case study of grassroots regionalism in Cape Cod, Massachusetts between 1988-1991 spotlights how growth concerns can provide a compelling need for county government modernization and restructuring of land use control. The article concludes by discussing the benefits and costs of citizen-inspired regionalism, and recommends that states should do more to encourage locally-formulated regional solutions.