Regional Planning and Land Use Localism: Can They Coexist?

The potential effectiveness and citizen acceptance of emerging regional and state land use planning programs in New England is examined. To be successful, these programs must find acceptance within a system of historically home-rule, town-based land use governance. This article investigates the interplay between regionalism and parochialism, discusses emerging strategies, and reports on a telephone survey of over three hundred Cape Cod residents that examined local opinion regarding the proposed creation of a regional land use regulatory commission. These citizens were queried about the perceived consequences of greater-than-local land use planning. Although local parochialism was found to be a strongly held attitude, regionalism support was substantial (76 percent in favor), because two perceptions overshadowed local biases — awareness of the regional impact of development and perceived utility of regional land use management. The negative image of a regional government preempting local control was largely overshadowed by the anticipated tangible benefits of regionalism. The transferability of Cape Cod regionalism to other New England areas is discussed