Shared futures of city and country: A total flows analysis of urban-rural ecological economic dependence in New York City's Catskill-Delaware watershed

The interaction of urban cores and their rural hinterlands is considered from an ecological-economic perspective. The concept of ‘urban metabolism’ motivates the analysis of urban dependence on geographic regions outside their borders for both sources of inputs and waste sinks. The literature in regional economics has raised the question of whether rural hinterlands are dependent on their metropolitan centers for their own economic well-being. This notion of mutual dependence between urban and rural regions is explored, with particular attention given to water resource use. A case study of New York City and its Catskill-Delaware watershed system is used to explore these themes.; Dependence of city on ‘country’ for water can exist in both quantity and quality terms. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 1989 Surface Water Treatment Rule forces cities to consider the ecosystem services preserved by appropriate land use management inside suburban and rural watersheds of urban water supplies. The impacts of current and future development in the rural regions may threaten those ecosystem services. Compensation from the city may be an effective way to motivate protection of those ecosystem functions. Both direct payments and investment in economic development projects consistent with water quality goals have been used in practice.; A total flows analysis performed using an interregional input-output model, with the city as one region and the watershed counties as the other, is used to determine the degree of dependence of watershed region industries on the purchases of metropolitan consumers, both intermediate and final. Land use multipliers are then calculated to consider the potential for expanding production in those dependent sectors without unduly threatening water quality. It is shown that the watershed counties are dependent on New York City in very limited ways, and thus the prospects for compensation via encouraging increased trade ties in those dependent sectors is quite limited. However, the analysis also identifies the opportunity to strengthen regional economic ties that are not currently utilized. The policy implications of these conclusions are also considered.