Regional plans, local fates? The influence of the 1976 and 1985 Atlanta Regional Development Plans on local government policy

Councils of governments (COGs) create regional comprehensive plans in attempt to shape the future development of their regions. Though these voluntary plans can be compelling, COGs often have little power to implement them; actual implementation often depends on local governments that control land use.;The Atlanta Regional Commission created the 1976 and 1985 Regional Development Plans (RDPs). How, if at all, did the plans and/or planning processes influence local government policies? Moreover, if counties adopted policies similar to those in the RDP, what factors influenced their decision to implement, or not implement, such policies? Theoretically, how should we evaluate plan performance---using traditional implementation literature, or ideas from communicative theory?;This dissertation answers these questions by examining the fates of select spatial policies featured in the RDP, comparing regional policies to local policies, and conducting interviews to discover what factors influenced county decision-making. The dissertation focuses on floodplains, sensitive soils, and airports policies because they were spatially prescriptive, explicitly intended to shape growth, and would be implemented exclusively by local governments.;The hypothesis held that local governments would not adopt spatially restrictive regional plan goals, due to local development interests. A second hypothesis asserted that local governments that adopted spatially restrictive goals would not implement them.;The first hypothesis was partly incorrect. The RDP planning process had a clear, causal influence on local government comprehensive plans. The RDPs also served other functions, such as data provision. However, the RDP did not influence subsequent local government ordinances and regulations.;The second hypothesis was partially correct. Local governments did not typically implement their spatially restrictive policies for airports and soils. In some cases, even adopted ordinances were patently ignored. Local floodplain regulations, however, experienced greater success, due to federal programs.;Where the RDP influenced local governments, it was because local governments were involved in the planning process, suggesting that communicative theory provides a better evaluation lens than traditional implementation literature. However, the implementation literature provides an appropriate foundation for evaluating outcomes of local ordinances.