Local Planning Agency Relationships with Councils of Governments and Development Districts: A General Investigation with a Specific Emphasis on Chattanooga, Tennessee

The federal government, in an attempt to bring about metropolitan wide problem solving and to foster economic development on a regional scale, has encouraged the establishment of metropolitan councils of governments and economic development districts. These have been given a planning function, financially supported by the federal government. This thesis is a study of how these new planning agencies relate with other planning agencies in areas where their jurisdictions overlap.

This is done in a genera investigation of how the Chattanooga Area Regional Council of Governments and the Southeast Tennessee Development District relate to the local planning agency (the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission) and other planning agencies in and around Chattanooga, Tennessee. The investigation is conducted in a case study approach by interviewing various agencies' personnel in an attempt to find out how each agency sees itself in relation to other agencies.

The main problem facing the planning agencies in the study area is that there is a lack of a clear definition of responsibility concerning each agency's functions. This is leading to duplication of efforts and in some cases actual conflict between agencies.l