Citizen Support for Regional Government in the New Suburbia

Abstract

Political fragmentation, in the form of many small municipalities charting their own destinies, is a fundamental attribute of suburban regions. Scholars are divided about the need for addressing fragmentation through new regional-level governments. In Orange County, California, which is a multimunicipality suburban region stricken with growth and traffic problems, a representative survey of 1,008 residents indicates two-to-one opposition to merging county and city governments into one countywide authority. Several factors are associated with strong opposition to merging local governments; most significant are the desire to maintain city power and the belief that the county will become a worse place to live in the future. In sum, public opinion is a serious obstacle to regional-level authority in suburbia.