Institutional solutions to jurisdictional fragmentation: The implications of regional special purpose bodies for how city-regions are governed in Canada by Tamara Krawchenko A dissertation submitted to The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario Canada in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy: Political Economy Carleton University, Ottawa ©2012 Krawchenko, Tamara Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-89340-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-89340-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT Continued patterns of urbanization are leading to ever larger and more complex urban regions. Regional institutions have arisen as a governance solution to address the problems of coordination across large, jurisdictionally fragmented urban regions. Regional special purpose bodies (RSPBs) are one such regional institutional arrangement. This dissertation examines RSPBs for transportation and transit governance in Canada, through the case studies of Translink (in Greater Vancouver) and Metrolinx (in Greater Toronto and Hamilton). This dissertation adds to the empirical research on the construction of regional political spaces, emerging institutional forms and their resultant implications for urban-regional governance. It focuses on a specific type of institutional shift in urban-regional governance, its causes and its consequences. Ongoing processes of urbanization make regional coordination a pressing issue—particularly in the area of transportation, which is of great importance to the environmental sustainability, social inclusivity, economic development, and livability of city regions. The adoption of RSPBs are symptomatic of the recognition that many aspects of planning are best addressed at a regional scale. They are reflective of an institutional evolution towards a regional 'policy need,' which raises the question of what such coordination at the regional scale means for the structure of politics in the longer term. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my parents—who are both educators—I give thanks for their constant support and encouragement throughout my many years of studies. My parents have taught me a love of learning and a great respect for education. I am immeasurably grateful for this. I also thank my infinitely patient husband for his support throughout this process. To my dissertation supervisor—Dr. Christopher Stoney—I thank you for your guidance, patience, engagement and constant humor. I am very fortunate to have had someone so knowledgeable guide me through this process. I also give great thanks to my committee members—Dr. Susan Phillips and Dr. Fran Klodawsky. You both provided invaluable support and direction throughout this process and pushed me to address difficult questions. I am extremely grateful for this and have a better dissertation because of it. I would also like to thank my external committee members—Dr. Patricia Ballamingie who provided a valuable and unique perspective to my defense and Dr. Patrick J. Smith whose many thoughtful comments have pushed my thinking on this topic. I also thank Dr. Smith for his graciousness in aiding me with my Vancouver-based research and for speaking with me at length on this topic. Thank you! I have benefited from a truly interdisciplinary education at the School of Public Policy and Administration. I would like to thank all of my professors there. A special thanks to Dr. Leslie A. Pal (SPPA PhD supervisor)—for all of his direction and encouragement throughout this process. My research has been in large part based on long interviews with key stakeholders. I would like to thank all of those who participated in this study for their time and insights. I could not have understood this topic without the depth of knowledge these interviews brought. Finally, I would like to thank the M-dash. I overuse and abuse you. You are my crutch. I could not have written this dissertation without you. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Institutional responses to urban-regional growth and complexity: The adoption of regional special purpose bodies pg. 1 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework and methods pg. 16 Chapter 3: Governance, complexity and the politics of regionalism pg. 46 Chapter 4: Regional special purpose bodies in comparative perspective: The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada pg. 85 Chapter 5: Greater Vancouver and Translink pg. 122 Chapter 6: Greater Toronto and Hamilton and Metrolinx pg. 178 Chapter 7: Translink and Metrolinx: Interpreting institutional change and impacts pg. 228 Chapter 8: Conclusion pg. 255 Appendix pg. 265 Bibliography pg. 268 iii LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES 1.1 Summary of regionalist debates/positions 2.1 New institutionalisms: differences and commonalities in their conception of institutions 2.2 Comparison of new institutional approaches 2.3 Combining the frameworks: Historical institutionalism and regime theory 2.4 Types and use of evidence/data 3.1 Types of regional governance models 3.2 Regional governance models: institutionally heavy to institutionally light 3.3 Entities along a public-private continuum 3.4 Organizational forms in public transport 3.5 RSPBs by function 3.6 Types of accountability 3.7 New versus old regionalism 3.8 Corporate versus competitive regionalism 4.1 RSPBs for transportation and transit in Western European urban areas with a population over one million 4.2 Metropolitan Planning Organizations by State, Count 4.3. Census of special district governments for transportation operation by function 4.4 Population density for select cities in Canada 5.1 Local governments of Metro Vancouver 5.2 Local Governments of Metro Vancouver, population 2007 5.3 Division of responsibilities under the UTA Act in Greater Vancouver 5.4 Timeline of major events up to the creation of Translink 5.5 Organizational chart of BC Transit prior to 1998 5.6 City of Vancouver, proposed governance models, 1997 5.7 Translink organizational chart 1999-2007 5.8 Translink organizational chart 2007 to present 5.9 Translink: transportation and financial plans 5.10 Comparison of existing and proposed funding mechanisms for Translink 5.11 Translink: total revenue and transit service hours, 2001-2010 6.1 The Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA) 6.2 GTHA Population and population density 2001 -2006 6.3 Initiatives under the Places to Grow Act (2005) 6.4 Metrolinx draft funding strategy overview - potential funding sources 6.6 Metrolinx revenue concept 2011-2021 iv ACRONYMS ARL Air Rail Link (Toronto) CMA Census Metropolitan Area CRP Calgary Regional Partnerships GT Transit Greater Toronto Transit GTA Greater Toronto Area GTHA Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area GTSB Greater Toronto Services Board GVRD Greater Vancouver Regional District (Metro Vancouver) GVTA Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority HI Historical Institutionalism HOT High Occupancy Toll LRSP Livable Region Strategic Plan LRT Light Rail Transit MoT Ministry of Transportation MPP Member of Provincial Parliament NDP New Democratic Party OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OMB Ontario Municipal Board PC Progressive Conservative PPP Public Private Partnership RAV Richmond Airport Vancouver line RCI Rational Choice Institutionalism RSPB Regional Special Purpose Body SCBCTA South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act SI Sociological Institutionalism SPB Special Purpose Body TfL Transport for London TTC Toronto Transit Commission UBCM Union of British Columbia Municipalities UTA Urban Transit Association V Chapter 1 INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO URBAN-REGIONAL GROWTH AND COMPLEXITY: THE ADOPTION OF RSPBS This century, for the first time in history, the world's population will hit a tipping point whereby