Transcending the fixity of jurisdictional scale

Deborah G. Martin, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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.