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The Nature Of Metropolitan Governance In Urban America: A Study Of Cooperation, Conflict, And Avoidance In The Kansas City Region, Curtis H. Wood

Working Group on Interlocal Services Cooperation

In this study I determine the dominant pattern of governance in the Kansas City metro based on interviews with 46 city administrative officers in cities over 2,500 in population. Consistent with theories of cooperation, I found that the dominant governance strategy is intergovernmental cooperation in the delivery of public services punctuated by conflict and avoidance/defection when intergovernmental service delivery arrangements involve infrequent interaction between the parties and when the presence and influence of the regional council of government is minimal.