A new plan is afoot in Britain that will devolve centralized power away from central government and out into metropolitan areas. Bruce Katz sees lessons for the United States in the experience of United Kingdom.
"All three major parties in Britain have concluded that devolving power away from central government and toward metropolitan areas will improve economic growth and government performance," reports Bruce Katz. "Tory, Lib-Dem, and Labour alike find themselves competing over who can articulate a more complete vision of devolution."
As for commentary, Katz adds: "It’s enough to make you believe in representative democracy again."
Along with the political movement is a study by the Royal Society of the Arts’ City Growth Commission [pdf], which Katz describes as "a well-timed report that explains the need for devolution in the U.K. and creates a blueprint for how to get it done."
"[The report] details two sets of recommendations: one proposing a specific process of devolution and outlining the specific powers to be devolved; the other detailing how central government can best set the stage for metropolitan success."
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research