Research in Human Ecology Building Regional Capacity for Land-Use Reform: Environmental Conservation and Historic Preservation in the Hudson River Valley Paul T. Knudson1 Department of Sociology State University of New York at Albany Albany, New York Abstract land-use policies between municipalities. This leads to en- hanced development efficiency and connectivity that counter- In exploring new ways of building the capacity for re- act leapfrog development and waste-inducing zoning laws. gional land-use reforms, this paper, using a case study ap- Due to the salience of these issues, combined with the proach, compares the role of non-profit environmental and related, unabated decline of numerous inner cities in the land-use organizations to public, state agencies that operate United States, over the last few decades scholars and policy in the same or similar spheres. The context for the compara- makers have examined the issue of regionalism widely. Many tive study are two regions in the Hudson River Valley of New have focused on regionalism through the lens of government York State, a broad geography experiencing intense develop- consolidation and formal regional governments (Benjamin ment pressures as well as corresponding calls for land con- and Nathan 2001; Gainsborough 2001; Rusk 2000, 2003; servation and historic preservation. Findings suggest that White 2002; Yaro 2000; Lewis 1996; Orfield 1997; Weir while state agencies can offer strategic incentives and pro- 2000). Others have looked towards the role that private, pub- tections to communities and regions that adopt regional-ori- lic-private, and non-profit bodies have played or can poten- ented land-use policies, both governmental and non-profit tially exercise in regionalist goals (Dreier et al. 2004, 302; groups play an important role in educating and advising mu- Feiock 2009; Fontan et al. 2009; Gainsborough 2003; Kanter nicipal officials and residents as well as fostering cross-ju- 2000; Orfield 2002, 183). risdictional communication. In addition, an advantage of Using a case study approach, this paper zeros in on the non-profit agencies is their independence from the state and final set of actors in that it explores and analyzes the role of state budgetary constraints. Non-profit agencies are also ca- non-profit environmental/land-use organizations in building pable of advocating on behalf of their public agency coun- the capacity for inter-municipal and regional land-use re- terparts in the public arena. forms. Their capacity in this regard is compared to that of for- mal government agencies that operate with similar objec- Keywords: Regional coalitions, land conservation, his- tives. Representing a highly suitable laboratory of sorts, the toric preservation, urban sprawl context of this study is the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Within the Hudson River Valley, I focus on groups that Introduction operate out of two regions: Albany-Schenectady-Troy- Saratoga Springs and Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middleton. Suburban sprawl persisted in the American context dur- Although these regions possess some the nation’s foremost ing the decade of the 2000s, and despite the prolonged eco- historic sites and awe-inspiring natural landscapes, such at- nomic downturn, these trends are predicted to continue into tributes have consistently been under threat by rapid subur- the foreseeable future (Lang 2004; Lang and LeFurgy 2007). ban development. Therefore what has evolved is a delicate With sprawl comes environmental threats including the di- balancing act and negotiation between land development and minishment of water and soil quality, the loss of farmland, land preservation. forests, and other open spaces, and due to longer commutes The findings of this study suggest that natural resource and driving distances, air pollution. One valuable and recur- and land-use concerns can be an effective way to foster re- ring idea for moderating sprawl and promoting land conser- gional and urban-suburban collaboration. Moreover, al- vation has been to enhance regional cooperation and capaci- though non-profit environmental/land-use organizations lack ty (Dreier et al. 2004; Benfield et al. 1999; Rusk 2003). Pro- regulatory authority, they can play a complementary role with ponents argue that greater regionalization creates coherent state environmental/land-use agencies. While state agencies Human Ecology Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2011 53 © Society for Human Ecology Knudson can offer strategic incentives and protections to communities of reasons the creation of such units is seen as relatively un- that adopt regional-oriented land-use policies, both govern- likely. The foremost detractor involves money and taxation. mental and non-profit groups play an important role in edu- Local constituents, because of the centrality of the property cating and advising municipal officials and residents as well tax for local municipal coffers, will not support regional gov- as fostering cross-jurisdictional communication. Further- ernments if they believe they will be on the losing end fiscal- more, an advantage of non-profit agencies is their indepen- ly (Savitch and Vogel 1996). dence from the state and state budgetary constraints. Non- Gainsborough (2002) also notes that concerns about profit agencies are also capable of advocating on behalf of growth, urban sprawl, and development vary by geographic their public agency counterparts in the public sphere. location, socioeconomic status, and racial/ethnic characteris- tics. This may undermine a coherent and coordinated politi- Regions and Regionalism cal project involving regional government. To complicate matters further, central city leaders often see regional bodies Although abstract and with no widely recognized defin- as an infringement on their autonomy. This is especially rel- ition, a region, in most of the academic literature, is under- evant if racial/ethnic minorities control central city politics, stood as a city, the surrounding suburbs, and the farms, in that regionalism might be construed as diluting minority forests, and open spaces just beyond the suburban fringe voice and political power (Dreier et al. 2004; Frisken and (Katz 2000). Regionalism likewise is broadly interpreted, but Norris 2001; Norris 2001; Swanstrom 2006). a good conception comes from Briffault (2000). Regionalism Because formal regional governments will most likely seeks to “shift certain authorities to institutions, organiza- not appear even in a significant minority of metropolitan tions, or procedural structures with larger territorial scope areas, scholars and public officials argue that informally- and more population than existing local governments” (p. 1). based, regional cooperation or cross-jurisdictional collabora- The conception here is that metropolitan areas are real social tion is the preferred and more realistic route for achieving units in which residents, businesses, and markets are inte- some level of development coherence, equity, and efficiency grated and inter-dependent. between localities. Briggs (2006) argues that because neither Briffault (2000) contends that local democracy, problem urban- nor suburban leaders view regionalism as a major pri- solving, and rational land-use planning are best achieved ority, coalitions should be built around specific interest areas through regionalism. As metropolitan areas continue to grow, including transportation, housing, and public education. the most important issues facing communities are largely be- These particular dimensions have a better chance of receiving yond the scope, capability, and proficiency of local, decen- attention from local policy makers. tralized governments. Numerous issues, including land-use One specific dimension has been economic develop- and urban sprawl, transportation networks, pollution, the ca- ment. Fontan et al. (2009), Gainsborough (2003) and Kanter pacity of local tax bases, and economic development are gen- (2000) examine the involvement of the business community erally beyond the adequate accommodation and resolution of with respect to regionalism. Their research suggests that busi- local governments. In regards to local democracy, whereas nesses are likely to become involved primarily when region- certain decisions do not have consequences beyond local bor- alism is seen as an avenue to continued economic expansion. ders, an array of others do, and therefore both local and re- Transportation and housing have also been key areas in gional governance are needed. which regional coalitions have emerged. Alpert et al. (2006) Those who espouse the importance of regionalism (Bol- explore how informal ties among transportation stakeholders lens 1997; Briffault 2000; Orfield 2002; Richmond 2000; in South Florida strengthened and made possible formal and Rusk 2003; Swanstrom 2001, 2006; Wheeler 2002) argue that regional coordination in regards to transportation policy. Or- such governance structures enhance regional equity and en- field (2002) has studied the creation of regional fair-share able more rational and coherent land-use and infrastructure housing agreements in Minneapolis-St. Paul and metropoli- planning. Regionalist policies also hedge against “effective tan Washington, D.C. Included here are the work of non-prof- fiscal zoning,” or zoning that protects homeowners and keeps it, faith-based organizations in support of regional housing out lower status land uses, including affordable housing. equity strategies. In addition, Blackwell and Bell (2006) and These