Articles on the Relationship Between City and County Governments
This month, Michael Huling, Davenport Institute Advisory Council member and City Planner with Clark County in Nevada, and Pooja Bachani Di Giovanna, Assistant Director of the Davenport Institute, were both featured in the November issue of ICMA’s PM Magazine. In both articles, Huling and Di Giovanna discuss the difficulties of navigating the working relationship between the county and city governments.
In his article, The Unique Diversity of Counties, Huling draws back on his experience growing up in San Diego to illustrate the importance
of understanding diversity at the county level. Huling notes that county governments
must account for cultural diversity but also geographical and political diversity.
This article highlights the importance of understanding and respecting these differences
while establishing partnerships that promote prosperity within the county.
Di Giovanna’s article, Cities and Counties Working Together, stresses the need for an established relationship between the county and city governments,
and how best to foster that relationship. Di Giovanna references several examples
of county and city governments with an established relationship and how they work
collaboratively to best serve the community members. This article stresses the importance
of finding commonality in the bigger picture and how to use that common interest to
foster stronger communities.