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Producing regionalism: regional movements, ecosystems and equity in a fast and slow growth region

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Abstract

Urban development pressures, preservation of environmentally sensitive areas and regional planning are the focus of current debates on regionalism in both fast and slow growth regions. Based on two cases—a campaign to preserve ecological integrity and reduce sprawl on the Oak Ridges Moraine in the Greater Toronto Area and Rochester’s anti-sprawl campaign for regional equity—the paper examines how two anti-sprawl campaigns brought to the fore alternative constructions of regionalism. In the fast growing Toronto region, citizen mobilization and upper tier intervention resulted in a legislative base for regionalism. In the slow growth Rochester region, the city had limited success in gaining regional redistribution. Such divergent outcomes relate to differences in intergovernmental relations, the city’s influence on the region, receptivity of suburbs to smart growth, and the potential for values of nature preservation and justice to mobilize regional coalitions.

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Notes

  1. It is only surpassed by such US cities as Portland Oregon which grew by 26.3% between 1990 and 2000, Dallas (29.3%), Houston (25%), Denver (30%), Atlanta (38.9% and Las Vegas (83%) (GHK Canada 2002, p. 13).

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Liette Gilbert for editorial assistance and to L. Anders Sandberg, co-investigators in a study of citizen activism and planning on the Oak Ridges Moraine funded by SSHRC grant # 410-2002-1483. We also thank Gary Sands for his insightful comments, and Pierre Filion and Laura Reese. Rajiv Rawat created the map.

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  1. Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, HNES 109, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Gerda R. Wekerle & Teresa V. Abbruzzese

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  1. Gerda R. Wekerle
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  2. Teresa V. Abbruzzese
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Correspondence to Gerda R. Wekerle.

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Wekerle, G.R., Abbruzzese, T.V. Producing regionalism: regional movements, ecosystems and equity in a fast and slow growth region. GeoJournal 75, 581–594 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9271-z

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