18.2. Polycentric Governance

Aus Pattern Language Wiki

The governance of Polycentric Region and all of their components also needs a corresponding polycentric (many-centered) structure…


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Problem-statement: Most of the problems of cities and towns are embedded within inter-connected networks of partly overlapping sub-systems. To be effective, the governance systems of cities and towns need a similar structure.


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Discussion: It is crucial for each unit of governance to see itself as embedded within a larger cooperative system which is partly formal, and partly informal. The business of governance of public spaces is thus a matter of continuously negotiating agreements, identifying and resolving problems, working through conflicts (including with other units of governance) and promoting the best interest of the public realm as much as is possible within the constraints of the moment. This is the nature of “polycentric governance.”


The idea of polycentric governance was developed most thoroughly by the political economist Eleanor Ostrom1, who described a series of partly overlapping institutions (including governments, businesses, NGOs and individuals) working within a cooperative structure defined by agreements and basic rules. The concept goes back at least to the work of Michael Polanyi, and, as discussed more recently by Aligicka and Tarko2, is defined as “a social system of many decision centers having limited and autonomous prerogatives and operating under an overarching set of rules”. These rules include formal laws, contractual agreements, and informal or even tacit agreements between the polycentric entities.


Consider for example a restaurant with a sidewalk café. The restaurant does not own the sidewalk area, and in fact may not even own its building. It may have a lease with the building owner, and a permit with the city authority controlling the sidewalk. At the same time, the city may have authority over the cleanliness of the restaurant, as well as the fire safety of the building and its owner. In addition, a business association may have less formal control over the kind of signage and street furniture allowed on the sidewalk café. Finally, restaurant staff may have informal control over people who use the seating area, with the right to ask non-customers to leave — even though the staff does not own the sidewalk, does not own the building, and may not own the restaurant! Many overlapping layers of formal and informal governance come together in a network of relationships.


It is important therefore to respect and support these multiple levels of governance. Too often, however, centralized institutions (especially governments) suppress polycentric governance networks, often because they are simply more difficult to manage. This tendency must be resisted, in order to tap the superior problem-solving power of self-organizing and distributed networks.


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Therefore:

Structure the governance of place in your city, town or neighborhood as a series of many overlapping formal and informal institutions, a system of “polycentric governance.” Various institutions will have formal control over specific defined parts of a structure, but many other institutions will have overlapping and informal controls. Work to cooperate with these various entities from your own position or, very often, multiple positions.


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Recognize and support the least structured forms of place governance, including Informal Stewardship. Assure that Public-Private Place Management is balanced, and does not serve the interest of private over public interests.




¹ See Ostrom, E. (2010). Beyond markets and states: Polycentric governance of complex economic systems. American Economic Review, 100(3), 641-72.


² See Aligika, P. and Tarko, V. (2012). Polycentricity: From Polanyi to Ostrom, and Beyond. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, 25(2), April 2012 (pp. 237–262).



Mehaffy, M. et al. (2020). POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE (pattern). In A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions. The Dalles: Sustasis Press. Available at https://pattern-language.wiki/.../Polycentric_Governance



SECTION I:

PATTERNS OF SCALE


1. REGIONAL PATTERNS

Define the large-scale spatial organization…

1.1. POLYCENTRIC REGION

1.2. BLUE-GREEN NETWORK

1.3. MOBILITY CORRIDOR

1.4. 400M THROUGH STREET NETWORK

2. URBAN PATTERNS

Establish essential urban characteristics…

2.1. WALKABLE MULTI-MOBILITY

2.2. LEVEL CITY

2.3. PUBLIC SPACE SYSTEM

2.4. BIOPHILIC URBANISM

3. STREET PATTERNS

Identify and allocate street types…

3.1. URBAN GREENWAY

3.2. MULTI-WAY BOULEVARD

3.3. AVENUE

3.4. SHARED SPACE LANE

4. NEIGHBORHOOD PATTERNS

Define neighborhood-scale elements…

4.1. STREET AS CENTER

4.2. PEDESTRIAN SANCTUARY

4.3. NEIGHBORHOOD SQUARE

4.4. NEIGHBORHOOD PARK

5. SPECIAL USE PATTERNS

Integrate unique urban elements with care…

5.1. SCHOOL CAMPUS

5.2. MARKET CENTER

5.3. INDUSTRIAL AREA

5.4. HOSPITAL

6. PUBLIC SPACE PATTERNS

Establish the character of the crucial public realm…

6.1. PLACE NETWORK

6.2. WALKABLE STREETSCAPE

6.3. MOVABLE SEATING

6.4. CAPILLARY PATHWAY

7. BLOCK AND PLOT PATTERNS

Lay out the detailed structure of property lines…

7.1. SMALL BLOCKS

7.2. PERIMETER BLOCK

7.3. SMALL PLOTS

7.4. MID-BLOCK ALLEY

8. STREETSCAPE PATTERNS

Configure the street as a welcoming place…

8.1. STREET AS ROOM

8.2. TERMINATED VISTA

8.3. STREET TREES

8.4. STREET FURNISHINGS

9. BUILDING PATTERNS

Lay out appropriate urban buildings…

9.1. PERIMETER BUILDING

9.2. ARCADE BUILDING

9.3. COURTYARD BUILDING

9.4. ROW BUILDING

10. BUILDING EDGE PATTERNS

Create interior and exterior connectivity…

10.1. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AMBIGUITY

10.2. CIRCULATION NETWORK

10.3. LAYERED ZONES

10.4. PASSAGEWAY VIEW



SECTION II:

PATTERNS OF MULTIPLE SCALE


11. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

Build in coherent geometries at all scales…

11.1. LOCAL SYMMETRY

11.2. SMALL GROUPS OF ELEMENTS

11.3. FRACTAL PATTERN

11.4. FRAMING

12. AFFORDANCE PATTERNS

Build in user capacity to shape the environment…

12.1. HANDLES

12.2. CO-PRODUCTION

12.3. FRIENDLY SURFACES

12.4. MALLEABILITY

13. RETROFIT PATTERNS

Revitalize and improve existing urban assets …

13.1. SLUM UPGRADE

13.2. SPRAWL RETROFIT

13.3. URBAN REGENERATION

13.4. URBAN CONSOLIDATION

14. INFORMAL GROWTH PATTERNS

Accommodate “bottom-up” urban growth…

14.1. LAND TENURE

14.2. UTILITIES FIRST

14.3. DATA WITH THE PEOPLE

14.4. INCREMENTAL SELF-BUILD

15. CONSTRUCTION PATTERNS

Use the building process to enrich the result…

15.1. DESIGN-BUILD ADAPTATION

15.2. HUMAN-SCALE DETAIL

15.3. CONSTRUCTION ORNAMENT

15.4. COMPLEX MATERIALS



SECTION III:

PATTERNS OF PROCESS


16. IMPLEMENTATION TOOL PATTERNS

Use tools to achieve successful results…

16.1. FORM-BASED CODE

16.2. ENTITLEMENT STREAMLINING

16.3. NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING CENTER

16.4. COMMUNITY MOCKUP

17. PROJECT ECONOMICS PATTERNS

Create flows of money that support urban quality…

17.1. TAX-INCREMENT FINANCING

17.2. LAND VALUE CAPTURE

17.3. EXTERNALITY VALUATION

17.4. ECONOMIES OF PLACE AND DIFFERENTIATION

18. PLACE GOVERNANCE PATTERNS

Processes for making and managing places…

18.1. SUBSIDIARITY

18.2. POLYCENTRIC GOVERNANCE

18.3. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PLACE MANAGEMENT

18.4. INFORMAL STEWARDSHIP

19. AFFORDABILITY PATTERNS

Build in affordability for all incomes…

19.1. INTEGRATED AFFORDABILITY

19.2. COMMUNITY LAND TRUST

19.3. MULTI-FAMILY INFILL

19.4. SPECULATION TAX

20. NEW TECHNOLOGY PATTERNS

Integrate new systems without damaging old ones…

20.1. SMART AV SYSTEM

20.2. RESPONSIVE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY

20.3. AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN

20.4. CITIZEN DATA