ABSTRACT
Frank Popper examines the recent emergence of centralized, as opposed to local, land-use regulations at the regional, state, and federal levels in the United States. After analyzing and disputing two prevailing explanations for this centralization, Popper offers an alternate interpretation for the trend, one that involves practical adaptiveness and political staying power. He concludes that, “the right to make particular regulatory decisions shifts unpredictably over time from one level of government to another. No principle of administrative rationality, constitutional entitlement, economic efficiency, or even ideological predisposition truly determines the governmental locus of decisions.” This article received the 1989 Award for the Best Article in the Journal of the American Planning Association.
