Integration of Policy Decision Making for Sustainable Land Use within Cities

Soyoung Kim

doi:10.3390/su131810390

Abstract

Local land use policies can shape the sustainability of urban systems, but integrated land use at the local level is challenging since it requires the coordination of multiple semi-independent agencies within cities to effectively address collective actions problems and overcome functional divisions. Although this problem is widely acknowledged, systematic examination of what factors are related to internal coordination of land use functions is lacking. This research investigates what influences the extent to which cities coordinate across functional areas to promote integrative land use decision making. I address this question by first describing a conceptual framework drawing from institutional collective action (ICA) perspectives to understand internal city collaboration across policy functions. I then advance explanations linking institutions and community characteristics to the degree of coordination in municipal land use. Using a 2015 survey of 1124 U.S. cities, I test the hypothesized relationships based on the functional institutional collective action framework. The findings reveal that political institutions, city operation of utilities, elected officials support, and fiscal capacity increase coordination. In conclusion the implications of the findings for theory and land use planning research are discussed.

Highlights

Problems of fragmentation and cross-functional coordination are long-standing concerns for local governments [1,2]
Explanation, but they suggest that the barriers and facilitators of integrated land use decisions differ from those for other policy arenas and levels of government Governmental institutions, resources and municipal utilities were each found to play critical roles in land use coordination
This paper investigated what factors influence the degree to which land use decisions in local governments are functionally coordinated

Summary

Introduction

Problems of fragmentation and cross-functional coordination are long-standing concerns for local governments [1,2]. Land use decisions are described as central to economic development “growth machine” [3,4] as well as to sustainability [5,6]. It generally involves defining appropriate types and forms of land uses, as well as providing infrastructure and open space for efficient and sustainable utilization of land in order to provide benefits to the broader population, the economy, and the environment. By contrast little attention has been given to how to integrate functionally fragmented responsibilities within governments, and no previous studies have examined the administrative integration of land use decisions

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Discussion

Conclusion