5 ms·

It's not clear how this would solve any governance issues. The new states still mix coastal cities within inland/central valley counties, so you keep the urban/

It's not clear how this would solve any governance issues. The new states still mix coastal cities within inland/central valley counties, so you keep the urban/rural tension. Regional governments around cities would do more help governance. A big problem of the Bay Area is that political power is devolved too much to cities, which paralyzes any regional efforts on infrastructure, housing, crime, redevelopment. It would make more sense to create intermediate governments with power over metro areas. E.g. separate regional governments for the Bay Area, LA, Orange County, San Diego, Sacramento, and then larger ones for the central valley and Northern California.

akira2501 9y ago
> It would make more sense to create intermediate governments with power over metro areas. That's basically a county. Perhaps we just need to reconsider those boundaries? > Sacramento As a native, it's not as homogeneous as anyone would presume; and I feel the surrounding counties and structure do more or less reasonably represent the geographical and societal divisions that are present in Sacramento and the surrounding areas. I'm not sure any of our neighbors would appreciate being lumped out of California and in with us.
- pedrosorio 9y ago
  > That's basically a county. Perhaps we just need to reconsider those boundaries? There are 9 counties in the Bay Area.
  - sapienthomo 9y ago
    Those are very broad boundaries, though. It's not clear that people from Gilroy, Rio Vista, and Geyserville all share common interests in Bay Area governance.
- surfmike 9y ago
  Counties don't have nearly enough power to drive changes, and there are also too many of them in the Bay Area as well.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > Counties don't have nearly enough power to drive changes Depends on the county. The Bay Area makes that problematic, but the Bay Area has extensive regional governance systems above the county level already. (Such systems aren't uncommon in California, but the Bay Area is heavy with them, probably specifically because it's a large economically integrated region with small counties compared to the size of the region.)
    - surfmike 9y ago
      It does, but they have essential no power (until you get to the state).
- basch 9y ago
  Minnesota and Oregon did exactly what your parent is suggesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Council The seven counties in the Council's Twin Cities Metropolitan Area are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties. The Metropolitan Council or Met Council is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Met Council is granted regional authority powers in state statutes by the Minnesota Legislature. These powers can supersede decisions and actions of local governments. The legislature entrusts the Council to maintain public services and oversee growth of the state's largest metro area. This agency is similar to Metro in Portland, Oregon in that both agencies administer an urban growth boundary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(Oregon_regional_government) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(Oregon_regional_governm... Metro serves 25 cities in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties (as well as unincorporated parts of those counties.) Metro is the regional government for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Metro is responsible for managing the Portland region's solid waste system, coordinating the growth of the cities in the region, managing a regional parks and natural areas system, and overseeing the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Convention Center, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and the Portland Expo Center.
dragonwriter 9y ago
> It would make more sense to create intermediate governments with power over metro areas California has both counties and regional Councils of Governments (ABAG in the Bay Area for example.) Many of the latter of which are also (federally mandated) regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations. So regional governments already exist, though they aren't directly elected. > Sacramento, and then larger ones for the central valley Sacramento is not only part of the Central Valley, but if you take out Sacramento's metro area, the Central Valley isn't even a contiguous region.

akira2501 9y ago

> It would make more sense to create intermediate governments with power over metro areas. That's basically a county. Perhaps we just need to reconsider those boundaries? > Sacramento As a native, it's not as homogeneous as anyone would presume; and I feel the surrounding counties and structure do more or less reasonably represent the geographical and societal divisions that are present in Sacramento and the surrounding areas. I'm not sure any of our neighbors would appreciate being lumped out of California and in with us.

pedrosorio 9y ago
> That's basically a county. Perhaps we just need to reconsider those boundaries? There are 9 counties in the Bay Area.
- sapienthomo 9y ago
  Those are very broad boundaries, though. It's not clear that people from Gilroy, Rio Vista, and Geyserville all share common interests in Bay Area governance.
surfmike 9y ago
Counties don't have nearly enough power to drive changes, and there are also too many of them in the Bay Area as well.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Counties don't have nearly enough power to drive changes Depends on the county. The Bay Area makes that problematic, but the Bay Area has extensive regional governance systems above the county level already. (Such systems aren't uncommon in California, but the Bay Area is heavy with them, probably specifically because it's a large economically integrated region with small counties compared to the size of the region.)
  - surfmike 9y ago
    It does, but they have essential no power (until you get to the state).
basch 9y ago
Minnesota and Oregon did exactly what your parent is suggesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Council The seven counties in the Council's Twin Cities Metropolitan Area are Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties. The Metropolitan Council or Met Council is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Met Council is granted regional authority powers in state statutes by the Minnesota Legislature. These powers can supersede decisions and actions of local governments. The legislature entrusts the Council to maintain public services and oversee growth of the state's largest metro area. This agency is similar to Metro in Portland, Oregon in that both agencies administer an urban growth boundary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(Oregon_regional_government) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_(Oregon_regional_governm... Metro serves 25 cities in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties (as well as unincorporated parts of those counties.) Metro is the regional government for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Metro is responsible for managing the Portland region's solid waste system, coordinating the growth of the cities in the region, managing a regional parks and natural areas system, and overseeing the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Convention Center, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and the Portland Expo Center.

dragonwriter 9y ago

> It would make more sense to create intermediate governments with power over metro areas California has both counties and regional Councils of Governments (ABAG in the Bay Area for example.) Many of the latter of which are also (federally mandated) regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations. So regional governments already exist, though they aren't directly elected. > Sacramento, and then larger ones for the central valley Sacramento is not only part of the Central Valley, but if you take out Sacramento's metro area, the Central Valley isn't even a contiguous region.