Alternative governance models for managing rapid growth: An exploration of how alternative governance models may help Albertan communities adapt to rapid growth
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Many communities in Alberta face challenges with unpredictable patterns of rapid growth and subsequent downturn. This research paper examines whether a given governance model is better for adapting to rapid growth. The study was done using a case study approach. The paper looks at four case study areas: Grande Prairie, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Edmonton and Calgary. Grande Prairie exemplifies the urban-rural segregation model. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo illustrates the specialized municipality model. Edmonton is an example of the regional planning model. Calgary demonstrates the single-tier metropolitan model. The study focuses on three areas: the history of municipal boundary changes, land development patterns and tax base distribution. Most of the literature on the subject indicates that rapid growth can have a negative impact on a community ranging from increased crime rates to an inability to keep up with infrastructure demand. Several sources recommend using impact assessment models to predict the effects of rapid growth and using this as a basis for planning. However, the same sources warn that impact assessment models are flawed in numerous ways. Various sources hint at the potential of alternative governance models, but none explore this approach in depth. The examination of municipal boundary changes indicated that the specialized municipality is the most stable model. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has not had boundary change since the 1995 amalgamation; whereas Grande Prairie, Edmonton and Calgary have each had numerous boundary changes and attempted boundary changes. The analysis of land development patterns indicate that the specialized municipality system provided for a more concentrated pattern of development. In the Edmonton-Calgary comparison, Calgary's single-tier model was slightly more successful at containing urban development. However, Calgary continuously annexes land to accommodate its sprawl. The examination of tax base distribution indicated that the specialized municipality model had the most equal distribution. The specialized municipality model allows rural areas to share their large non-residential assessment bases with the associated urban areas. Calgary had an equal tax distribution, because it covered the metropolitan area, but it lacked a significant non-residential tax base. This is likely due to the incompatibility of large-scale industrial projects with densely populated urban areas. Overall, the study results indicate that the specialized municipality model has the most potential for improving a municipality's ability to manage rapid growth. The challenge is that the specialized municipality model would be difficult to apply to cities that are as large as Edmonton and Calgary. Encompassing the surrounding rural areas would create an excessively large municipality. The model is well suited to areas with smaller cities, such as Grande Prairie or Fort McMurray, that are surrounded by rural municipalities. This study provides a broad look at the potential of different governance models, but choosing the appropriate governance model for a region requires a focused study that considers its unique circumstances.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.004 | 0.004 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.005 | 0.003 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".