The Great Lakes are among the most important natural resources in North America, but even in the regulated area of the Great Lakes Basin, not everyone is permitted equitable access. This Note builds upon the author’s previous work exploring the efficiency of existing regulations governing water use in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin. Treating the Great Lakes as an urban commons, this Note assesses how well existing regulations comport with urban commons governance best practices and recommends improvements to existing regulations. To make this assessment, this Note applies the urban commons “co-cities” framework developed by legal scholars Sheila R. Foster and Christian Iaione. Through this analysis, the Note concludes that although current regulations satisfy some of Foster and Iaione’s design principles, the existing governance regime does not meet them all, indicating significant room for improvement. This Note then suggests ways to better align the Compact with the co-cities framework, protect the lakes against existential threats, and ensure the millions of Americans and Canadians who depend on Great Lakes fresh water are granted equitable access. This Note argues that Foster and Iaione’s co-cities framework, synthesized with Elinor Ostrom’s observations of successful commons governance, provides a model for sustainable and equitable water use in the Great Lakes Basin that reduces conflict, promotes resiliency, and ensures the protection of urban commons resources amid the climate crisis. Applying this model to existing laws will alleviate mounting insecurities between the water-rich Great Lakes jurisdictions and water-poor regions nearby while promoting sustainable development practices Basin-wide.

Continue reading Great Lakes Polycentric Governance: Governing the Great Lakes as an Urban Commons