12 
financial problems of creating new institutional structures with 
powers equal to those of State governments are almost insurmountable, 
it is important to seek ways in which the leadership potential which 
State governments already possess can be realized. 
OPTIONS FOR STATE INVOLVEMENT IN THE URBAN 
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 
Many recommendations have been made regarding the need for 
State action in the field of urban development.? Most of the recom- 
mendations can be grouped under four general headings: 
1. The State should provide local and regional governments with 
remedial services and assistance when called upon to do so. 
2. The State, when it thinks it advisable, should undertake a variety 
of direct actions to assist and strengthen local governments in the 
exercise of their responsibilities. 
3. The State should impose certain controls on the activities of 
local governments and private interests in those cases where localities 
acting independently of one another cannot reach agreement, or in 
those instances where private developers seem intent on taking actions 
which are not in the “public interest.” 
4. The State should assume an active role in the planning and im- 
plementation of new urban growth and/or the redevelopment of 
existing cities and towns through a far-ranging program of public in- 
vestment and, where necessary, through the creation of new instru- 
mentalities. 
State involvement in the urban development process will necessarily 
vary from area to area within a State, as well as from State to State. In 
some instances it may be most appropriate for the State to delegate a 
wide assortment of permissive powers to local governments which can 
be utilized as the need arises. In other cases, more direct assistance of a 
technical or financial nature may be warranted. In some instances, 
stringent State regulation or control coupled with the expansion of 
State assistance programs in such areas as housing, industrial develop- 
ment, transportation, recreation or open space preservation may be 
required. 
The State’s role vis-a-vis local and Federal Government is change- 
able. Actions and approaches will vary widely. In one sense the 
options available to State government can be viewed on a continuum 
extending from relatively indirect to markedly direct action. In 
another sense, the range of State actions can be arrayed on the basis 
of how permissive or how regulatory they are. Seven options available 
to State government in its dealings with municipalities and private 
developers are described below:? 
1. The State may enable existing cities and towns to plan, spend 
money, raise funds, acquire land, and construct projects for urban 
development purposes. The State has a responsibility to make certain 
that localities have the basic powers with which to move intelligently 
toward solutions to urban problems. In most instances, localities have 
these powers, although authority to plan or raise funds for a specific 
§ See the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, annual reports, 1968, 1969, 1970 for a 
summary of the most recent recommendations. Also see the ‘Proceedings of the National Governor’s Con- 
ference,” 1960-68, including the special reports of the Committee on State- Urban Relations, 1967 and 1968, 
published by the National Governor’s Conference, Chicago, Ill. 
a ese options were presented in ‘State Responsibility in Urban Regional Development,’’ op. cit., 
