Geography

Transcending the fixity of jurisdictional scale

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In this commentary I argue that the case study of the Hanford Reservation illustrates that local interests are not coterminous with the scale of local government. Hanford is an example of a decentralized land-use decision-making process, whereby multiple government jurisdictions and diverse interest groups are involved in the negotiations. While the governments are fixed by scale, the other actors are not, and their interests are fluid across scales. Interest groups are most concerned with land-use outcomes, whereas Morrill presents local governments as most interested in their authority over land use. Analysis of land-use conflicts, therefore, must involve examination of both scale-bounded government autonomy as well as the power struggles and cross-scale alliances of the multiple interests and social identities expressing concern about the outcome.

Publication Title

Political Geography

Publication Date

1-1-1999

Volume

18

Issue

1

First Page

33

Last Page

38

ISSN

0962-6298

DOI

10.1016/S0962-6298(98)00063-8

Keywords

land-use conflict, local autonomy, politics of scale

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