Government & Urban Challenges (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Addressing the challenges facing urban environments is made more difficult because of the division of government responsibilities between multiple levels of government and multiple agencies

• For example, local, state, and national governments may each be in charge of policies simultaneously affecting urban areas

  • This is known as geographic fragmentation of government

• Similarly, multiple agencies and departments, such as transportation, housing and urban development, and health and human services, have authority over policies affecting cities

  • This is known as functional fragmentation of government

Challenges resulting from geographic and functional fragmentation include:

• coordination problems

  • These may result from inefficiency and duplication of services as multiple government agencies claim jurisdiction over the same issues

  • It may also be difficult to align policy decisions among different agencies and between different levels of government

• inequitable resource distribution

  • Resources may be distributed inequitably because wealthier areas often have more influences and resources, a larger tax base, and more economic development

  • This can lead to disparities in the provision of infrastructure and social services

• limited accountability

  • This may cause challenges in addressing urban issues, as residents do not know which agency or level of government should be responsible for fixing particular issues