A Joint Metropolitan Authority

Any vision for the Southland's future must be based on a diagnosis of the existing urban area. This area is currently faced with a series of challenges. One of the primary challenges is growth management. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) estimates that by the year 2020 the region (including Imperial County) will add almost 7 million people and 4 million jobs (SCAG, 1997, p. 4). The region must address the problem of finding the land needed for construction to accommodate these new residents and create a regional balance of employment. In addition, the Southland must balance its resource needs (water, land, air, etc.) with the demands of growth and the economy. Environmental management concerns are high on the list of priorities for the Southland, which has battled air quality problems for decades: "Since the dawn on the war on smog, growth has threatened to sabotage every advance in air quality" (SCAQMD 29). In addition, the region must provide for its communities in need, those with

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nity Builders' Council, mass builders forged a regional vision; they thought in terms of a coordinated metropolitan system, a network of integrated communities" (Hise 11). The urban patterns that have evolved in the Southland prove that development rarely proceeds in the exact direction of planners' preferences; economics plays an important role. SCAG advocates a regional focus that attracts industrial clusters. Industrial clusters are specialized economic foundations such as the apparel industry, foreign trade services, advanced transportation systems and technology, and tourism. According to SCAG, such clusters are vital to the region because of their multiplier effect: "Without healthy clusters, the rest of a region's economy--retail, services, and government--cannot prosper" (SCAG, 1993, p. 35). Without a regional strategy, local jurisdictions will continue to successfully compete for industries that would provide more benefit for the region, and for themselves, if located in geographic clusters. Developing import substitution in an open and free trading environment is another of SCAG's goals. This goal acknowledges the fact that the Southland must have the framework to compete in an economy that is becoming increasi
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1797
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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