Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
factors led to the emergence of gated communities in southern California. Such
real estate developments include common services for owners. The success of the
formula is such that Blakely and Snyder [BLS 97] estimated that in 1995, 8
million people lived in gated communities throughout the country. Denounced by
geographers of the Los Angeles school as a pathetic form of social secessionism,
the development of closed residential enclaves reflects the current urban malaise
in the United States.
The crisis was also precipitated by the relocation of employers to industrial
zones outside of city limits at the junction of interstate bypasses and access
highways (edge cities) [GAR 91]. Faced with declining revenues, the federal
government in the early 1970s came to the rescue of cities by providing operating
subsidies to compensate for their difficulties. Municipalities were encouraged to
borrow to finance current expenditures, and not just to use investments to generate
new revenue streams. The 1974 recession brought to a head the New York financial
crisis when finances were rescued in extremis by federal intervention in 1975. The
voter revolt against higher taxes which began in California in 1977 led to the
election three years later of that state's former conservative governor Ronald Reagan
to the presidency of the United States, the withdrawal of federal support to cities,
and the cessation of financial subsidies in 1986. Since then, many city centers have
become engaged in urban renewal projects to attract affluent new residents and new
jobs. Competition among metropolitan areas has become rampant, and in this
gigantic Monopoly board game, it should be noted that it is generally city ghettos
ruled by black people who are the losers.
The metropolitan area of Portland is often cited as an example for its regulations
to limit urban sprawl. Policies of environmental protection were put in place by the
state of Oregon in 1973. Overall, the policies seek to limit sprawl by limiting land
available for development through a system of Urban Growth Boundaries. The city
of Portland adopted its first plan in 1979. By 1992, three counties and 40 cities had
adopted the charter and transferred to a joint regional planning commission called
the Metro, which was the authority on matters of common interest, including the
preparation of a Regional Framework Plan which was finally adopted in 1997. This
planning document sets out the rules of land use and sets limits on the extent of
urban development. Metro is the first supra-regional elected government in the
United States. These policies, while inspired by European models, are considered
revolutionary in the American context. The policies are frequently accused of
artificially raising housing prices and unnecessarily prolonging travel times between
the home and workplace, and they never fail to elicit controversy.
