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Governance Restructuring in Los Angeles and Toronto: Amalgamation or Secession?

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  • Roger Keil

Abstract

Towards the end of the 1990s, a perplexing situation occurred in two large North American cities. In Toronto, Ontario, and Los Angeles, California, conservative political forces undertook to restructure the system of urban governance. While initiated by conservatives in both cases, in Toronto the result was consolidation; in Los Angeles secessionism is rampant. In both cases the political debate on amalgamation and secession is tied in with discourses on size, efficiency and form of urban government. In both cases, also, the shift from government to governance has been a central theme. This article investigates how local governance has changed in these two cities by comparing historical traditions of governance. Each city has a specific set of external relationships with other geographical and political scales and a set of characteristic internal contradictions. Internally, Los Angeles' tradition of splintered governance stands in contrast to Toronto's metropolitan governance model. Amalgamation and secession have been introduced as strategic options of governance restructuring in both cities in the late 1990s. Both (projected and realized) scalar changes of governance processes and institutions have been accompanied and characterized by social struggles and widespread political debate. The article outlines these debates and discusses the respective political alliances which have formed in both urban regions on the issue of amalgamation/secession. Vers la fin des années 1990, une situation troublante se produisit dans deux grandes villes d'Amérique du Nord: Toronto, en Ontario, et Los Angeles, en Californie. Les conservateurs y avaient entrepris de restructurer le système de gouvernance urbaine. Bien que l'initiative revienne aux mêmes forces politiques dans les deux cas, le résultat fut à Toronto une unification et à Los Angeles un sécessionnisme rampant. Dans les deux villes, le débat politique sur l'amalgamation et la sécession est lié aux discours sur la taille, l'efficacité et la forme d'un gouvernement urbain. De même, dans les deux villes, le passage de gouvernement à gouvernance s'est trouvé au centre des propos. Cet article recherche comment la gouvernance locale a évolué dans ces deux villes en comparant les traditions historiques. Chaque ville présente, d'une part, un ensemble particulier de relations extérieures avec d'autres échelles géographiques et politiques et, d'autre part, un ensemble de contradictions intérieures caractéristiques. Sur le plan intérieur, la tradition de gouvernance éclatée de Los Angeles s'oppose au modèle de gouvernance métropolitaine de Toronto. Vers la fin des années 1990, amalgamation et sécession ont été présentées dans les deux villes comme des options stratégiques pour la restructuration de la gouvernance. Les changements d'échelle –à la fois prévus et réalisés – concernant les processus et institutions de gouvernance ont été accompagnés et caractérisés par des conflits sociaux et un débat politique général. L'article expose ces discussions et aborde les alliances politiques respectives qui se sont formées dans les deux zones urbaines sur la question d'amalgamation/sécession.

Suggested Citation

  • Roger Keil, 2000. "Governance Restructuring in Los Angeles and Toronto: Amalgamation or Secession?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 758-781, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:24:y:2000:i:4:p:758-781
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.00277
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    Cited by:

    1. Filip De Maesschalck, 2011. "The Politicisation of Suburbanisation in Belgium," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(4), pages 699-717, March.
    2. Tom Slater, 2004. "North American Gentrification? Revanchist and Emancipatory Perspectives Explored," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(7), pages 1191-1213, July.
    3. Fulong Wu, 2020. "Scripting Indian and Chinese urban spatial transformation: Adding new narratives to gentrification and suburbanisation research," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(6), pages 980-997, September.
    4. Sandeep Agrawal & Cody Gretzinger, 2023. "Local Governance in Alberta: Principles, Options and Recommendations," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 16(3), January.
    5. Legrain, Alexander & Buliung, Ron & El-Geneidy, Ahmed M., 2016. "Travelling fair: Targeting equitable transit by understanding job location, sectorial concentration, and transit use among low-wage workers," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Federico Savini, 2012. "Who Makes the (New) Metropolis? Cross-Border Coalition and Urban Development in Paris," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(8), pages 1875-1895, August.
    7. Fitjar, Rune Dahl, 2019. "2019/01 Merging city and suburban governments: A public choice perspective on the Norwegian local government reform," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2019/1, University of Stavanger.
    8. R Alan Walks, 2008. "Urban Form, Everyday Life, and Ideology: Support for Privatization in Three Toronto Neighbourhoods," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(2), pages 258-282, February.
    9. Gordon MacLeod & Martin Jones, 2011. "Renewing Urban Politics," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(12), pages 2443-2472, September.
    10. Julie-Anne Boudreau & Roger Keil, 2001. "Seceding from Responsibility? Secession Movements in Los Angeles," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(10), pages 1701-1731, September.
    11. Lisa Freeman, 2017. "Governed Through Ghost Jurisdictions: Municipal Law, Inner Suburbs and Rooming Houses," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 298-317, March.
    12. Ioannis Chorianopoulos, 2008. "Institutional Responses to EU Challenges: Attempting to Articulate a Local Regulatory Scale in Greece," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 324-343, June.

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