Bridging Jurisdictions: Conservancies Working Across Borders as Adaptive Systems

This paper examines conservancies as potential exemplars of jurisdictions working across jurisdictional lines in developing metropolitan sustainability practices. With conservancies, we examine the promotion of locally constructed environmental values across jurisdictions. This research views conservancies as "intermediate structures" where networked activities traverse boundaries and influence the system as a whole, a characteristic suggestive of complex adaptive systems where connections among emergent networks shape the system as a whole, where collective action transcends boundaries while preserving jurisdictional integrity, and where patterns of interaction build capacity to legitimize collaboration that would otherwise be unacceptable. These intermediate structures create environmental commons among many parcels that, taken together, enhance the ecological sustainability of the region. These commons represent a complex adaptive system enabled by a variety of intermediate structures that facilitates distributed governance. Introduction This paper examines conservancies as potential exemplars of how jurisdictions can work across jurisdictions in developing sustainability practices in metropolitan areas. Local jurisdictional concerns are often viewed as constraints in forming meaningful coordination with other jurisdictions. Furthermore, national economic interests often trump locally focused environmental interests. Both kinds of constraints, narrowly defined local jurisdictional interests and national demands placed upon local jurisdictions inhibit progress in coalition and consensus development toward environmental sustainability. With conservancies, we examine the promotion of environmental values locally constructed and their potential to act as "intermediate structures" to extend or share these values across jurisdictions. Acting as intermediate structures where consensus development and shared values can work or extend across boarders, these entities hold promise in expanding influence on metropolitan land use, in building partnerships across and among other local jurisdictions and in enhancing citizen participation through membership expansion and distributed governance. The interpretation of conservancies is viewed in this research as "intermediate structures" (Meek, 2008) where networked activities are carried out across boundaries creating a new pattern of interaction and outcomes influencing the system as a whole. As a result, these intermediate structures and the commons created from them can be viewed within the context of the metropolitan system as characteristic of complex adaptive systems (MacMillian, 2004). The experiences of conservancies may offer lessons for cross-jurisdictional coordination and system learning that have implications for addressing dilemmas faced by distant (and not-so-distant) proximities (Rosenau, 2003). First, connections among emergent networks can be observed shaping the system as a whole. Second, transcending boundaries for collective action while preserving jurisdictional integrity can add to overall system capacity. Third, both informal and formal patterns of interaction build capacity to legitimize collaboration that otherwise would not be seen as acceptable. Within a metropolitan context, these experiences highlight the fragility of our systems' boundaries where newly created "intermediate" actors become the means of broadening the enactments of jurisdictional actors (Weick, 1995). Crossing Boundaries in Metropolitan Areas Our metropolitan political landscapes are characterized as containing jurisdictional units or local authorities where each act on behalf of and are held responsible to a specific citizenry based geographically defined. Elected officials held accountable to citizens through periodic electoral processes are charged to address social problems through these jurisdictions with administrative units. Our local cities, counties, state and federal governments are organized to address social problems and solutions through these jurisdictions. …