Four case studies in metropolitan regional planning

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the metropolitan regional planning programs of four case study areas in which one form or another of metropolitan governmental reorganization had occurred. The case studies selected are representative of four different types of areawide reorganization.

Five federally funded planning programs, representing both physical and social planning, were selected as the basis upon which the case study planning programs would be evaluated. Within each of the four metropolitan regions the responsibility for each of the five planning programs was evaluated, along with the interrelationships between the various planning agencies. The compatibility of the case study organizations with the federal planning program criteria is the major determinant of the viability of the case study organizations as viable metropolitan regional planning bodies.