Prompt: After a meeting discussing the future of local governments in the state, the California State
Legislature came to the conclusion that the current local government system in woefully inadequate.
They have decided to completely erase all existing political boundaries and to dissolve all political
institutions, such as cities, counties, etc. They have asked you to develop a new governmental
structure for metropolitan regions in the state. You are starting from a clean slate: there are no
existing city or county governments, no SANDAG, no anything.
Write an essay describing how you would re-create a local government system in California’s metro
regions. You do not need to talk about specific regions—focus on general principles that can apply to
all major metro areas. In your essay, you should address the following questions (you can address
additional issues at your discretion):
1. Should there be regional governments, and if so, what form should they take?
2. What type of relationship should there be between local governments (e.g., competition,
cooperation, etc.)?
3. How large (population-wise) should local governments be?
