A Regional Lesson from Louisville

I'm a big fan of not obsessing over how Richmond can mimic other cities, but I was struck by this piece from the Cleveland Plain Dealer about how Louisville managed to merge city and county governments in 2000 to create Metro Louisville. The issues facing Richmond are virtually identical as the ones Louisville faced, but I'm not sure the stars will align in Central Virginia they way they did in Kentucky. Here are a few of the keys to closing the deal in Louisville:

Schools done early: As part of a 1970s-era desegregation plan, a federal judge ordered city and county schools merged into one district. The most contentious regional issue was out of the way.

Toward one vision: The compact merged several city and county departments, including planning and zoning. It also created a joint office for economic development. Regional planning had begun.

Suburbs survive: Merger advocates dodged a contentious issue. Louisville suburbs were allowed to remain independent. They could keep their police, government and recreation programs, yet still vote for Metro mayor and council. Suburban opposition faded, and blacks lost a key anti-merger ally.

More important than how it happened is the look at the consequences of the change. In eight years, there doesn't seem to have been a dramatic change in how Louisville's government operates with 18 different fire districts, a mixed method of operating waste management systems and rapid sprawl outside of the Metro Louisville boundary that is one part a reflection of the housing boom and -- perhaps -- a reflection of how some people voted with their feet.

Among the observations of the benefits of the change:

• Louisville Urban League President Ben Richmond said the merger seems to have sparked reinvestment in the urban core and older neighborhoods that are largely black. "I like to think there's a ray of optimism brought on by merger," he said.

• Myron Orfield, a University of Minnesota expert on regionalism, said Louisville has shown what a racially diverse region can accomplish. "It's a robust, thriving metro area, nothing like Detroit. It's a business-led, multiracial, booming community."

And what hasn't landed the way it might have?

• Darryl Owens, a black Kentucky state representative from Louisville and a former Jefferson County commissioner, said the black community of Louisville is now represented by a suburban-dominated Metro Council. "Now the folks who moved out of the city get to control the city," he said.

• Gerald Neal, a black Kentucky state senator from Louisville, said merger proponents have been too quick to claim successes. "Merger may yet deliver black jobs, and better services," he said. "But it's too soon to tell."

• John Powell, an expert on the impact of regionalism on minority communities, said Louisville business and civic leaders ignored the wishes of the black community by pursuing consolidation. "Of all the things that can be done," he said, "white establishment pushes the issue that's hardest for the black community to swallow."

 

Comments

[Scott Burger]

Thanks for the comparison. I am looking forward to hearing my neighbor and Louisville native Greg Wells' thoughts on it. Richmond is 70% black, yet how much local black opinion do we really hear? Does the Richmond Free Press, The Voice, and the NAACP really represent all that is out there? I am hoping that RVANews.com will actually get to a point where we hear more of it- unvarnished, unmuted, unmitigated, and clearly in a majority. I think only then can we really tackle some of these more regional issues in a proper manner. Till then, we will continue to see the white dominated business community manipulate the media and black and white opinion to its liking. But that should also not deter us from discussing and exploring regional issues now with sensitivity.