bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Distribution of an Urban Public Service
Authors: Mladenka Kenneth R.
Published: November 2009

The research on the distribution of urban public services has made a valuable contribution in enhancing our understanding of urban politics. However, this literature is criticized because the authors employed cross-sectional rather than longitudinal designs, relied upon single rather than multiple indicators of the distributional pattern, and emphasized bureaucratic rather than political explanations of distributional outcomes. In this article, the distribution of park and recreation services in Chicago is analyzed for a 22-year period, revealing that a redistribution of resources between white and black wards occurred during this time. One conclusion is that class has replaced race as the primary determinant of the service distribution pattern.
Bigger is Better, or is it Smaller?
Authors: Phares Donald
Published: November 2009

St. Louis has a long-standing tradition as an urban workshop for academic analysis in part because small local governments in St. Louis County have provided units of analysis for a wide range of topics related to urban service provision and urban development. Recently, a federal commission and a board authorized by the Missouri constitution separately studied governmental fragmentation and how it relates to the long-term viability of St. Louis County. The federal commission praised the existing arrangement as a model for urban America to consider. The Missouri board proposed dramatic changes in local governmental structure and finance. Reorganization for the St. Louis area is discussed in the context of these two starkly contrasting studies.
Metropolitan Organization and Governance
Authors: Parks Roger B. , Oakerson Ronald J.
Published: November 2009

New conceptualizations are needed to encompass cumulating research findings that complex, multijurisdictional, multilevel organization is a productive arrangement for metropolitan areas. A local public economy approach recognizes (I) the distinction between provision and production, and the different considerations that bear on each; (2) the distinction between governance and government, and the multiple levels of governance; (3) the difference between metropolitan fragmentation and complex metropolitan organization, and the prevalence of the complex organization over fragmentation; and (4) the necessity for citizen choice and public entrepreneurship in crafting productive organizational and governance arrangements. It may contribute to a rethinking with respect to governance structures adapted to the diversity characteristic of American metropolitan areas.
Why Weakness is a Strength
Authors: Jones Bryan
Published: November 2009

National level studies of the policy process generally focus on the distributional question, Who gets what from government? Urban studies, however, tend to center on some combination of distribution and production—where resources come from as well as where they go. The recent urban literature has emphasized the dependence of cities on external forces. National studies often read as if political decisions are made autonomously. I argue here that the weakness of cities as political entities forces scholars to be more sensitive to fresh theoretical approaches. However, urban analysis also has been more fad driven and less secure in its methodological foundations. The critical issue is whether urban scholarship can transcend its insecure status, serving as a source for change in generally staid mainstream disciplinary work.
The Ambivalent State
Authors: Fainstein Susan S. , Fainstein Norman
Published: November 2009

The Reagan administration reduced federal spending on urban and regional development just when the American economy experienced massive restructuring. Federal withdrawals, however, rather than simply reducing governmental intervention in markets, produced a shift of action to the state and municipal level. The impact of restructuring caused state and local governments, often under pressure from business, to create a de facto national economic development policy. Governments fiercely competed with one another in a system of subnational mercantilism, the net effect of which probably was to reduce taxation on business. Whether the U.S. economy was strengthened as a whole remains unclear.
Market Maximization of Individual Preferences and Metropolitan Municipal Service Responsibility
Authors: Stein Robert M.
Published: November 2009

The assignment of functional responsibility in the American federal system is examined from the perspective of the municipal government. Tiebout's model of market maximization of individual preferences is contrasted with the more recent theories of Buchanan, Peterson, and Miller. The explanation that the historical origins of the city and the permeability of its borders structure the scope and level of its service responsibilities is tested. The findings have significant implications for the mode of municipal service provision and the potential for municipal governments to operate outside of the constraints imposed on them by their position in the American federal system.
Privatism and the Limits of Local Economic Development Policy
Authors: Barnekov Timothy , Rich Daniel
Published: November 2009

Contemporary local economic development policies reflect an underlying commitment to privatism—to enhancing and enlarging the role of the private sector in urban regeneration. In this study we challenge conventional expectations about the benefits of local economic development policies that are based on this commitment. Our analysis supports a set of propositions that define common limitations of the local economic development policies pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. We expect such limitations whenever privatism is accepted as the framework for urban development and regeneration policies.
The New Urban Latinos
Authors: Wallace Steven P.
Published: November 2009

Central American immigrants have recently entered the United States in large numbers. They could become integrated in the social structure like European immigrants have, be confined in a low-wage and -status sector like Mexican immigrants have, or create an ethnic enclave like Cuban immigrants have. The structural conditions that shape the social and economic future of Central American immigrants are examined by comparing them with Mexican immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a group, Central Americans are at high risk for joining persons of Mexican heritage at the bottom of America's socioeconomic system.
The Relationship between Industrialization and White Hostility toward Blacks in Southern Cities: 1865-1910
Authors: Evans Arthur S.
Published: November 2009

In this article I examine the relationship between industrialization and the exclusion of southern blacks from cities and occupations between 1865 and 1910—an era dubbed by social historians as the New South. I demonstrate that the interaction of such factors as percentage of blacks, percentage of whites, and white racism played an important role in forcing blacks to participate in a secondary labor market. The findings show that ascriptive judgments often are the rule and not necessarily the exception when industrialization proceeds, populations expand, and racist ideology persists.
Multiracial Coalitions in City Elections Involving Minority Candidates
Authors: Hero Rodney E.
Published: November 2009

In this research I examine the electoral coalitions of minority candidates elected citywide. The focus is on the election of a Hispanic as mayor and a black as city auditor of Denver. Although the coalitions that elected the two minority candidates are similar in many respects, there are some notable differences. Perhaps most interesting are the levels of black support for the Hispanic candidate as compared to the Hispanic support for the black candidate. And the level of nonminority support for the black auditor candidate is somewhat higher than that for the Hispanic mayoral candidate. These findings are integrally important but there are also broader implications.
In Search of the Corpse
Authors: Clarke Susan E. , Kirby Andrew
Published: November 2009

In this article we use a recent publication by Mark Gottdiener, The Decline of Urban Politics: Political Theory and the Crisis of the Local State, as the basis for a discussion of the many economic and social changes taking place within advanced capitalist societies. We argue that Gottdiener was too hasty when he identified the demise of the local political realm, and we show that alternative interpretations are possible and necessary. We draw on two sets of literature: one concerning the local state and the other exploring the current phase of economic restructuring. Although we agree that urban analysis necessitates considering state theory and economic analysis, we conclude that Gottdiener's ambitious yet desolate analysis remains unproved.
Tenacious Inequalities
Authors: Beauregard Robert A.
Published: November 2009

Inequalities of race and class in American society persist despite numerous redistributive policies instituted by the government. A proposal to attack racial disadvantages at the local level—a hiring preference ordinance—is used to explore how the material manifestations of race and class, local political activity, and the structural requirements of local government subverted its adoption. The cleavages of class and race eroded widespread political support for the proposal and weakened its potential for effective implementation; the demands on the local government undermined the mayor's relationship with the city council and divided minority elected officials from their grass-roots constituencies. The setting is Philadelphia in the 1980s.
Minority Business Contracting with Local Government
Authors: MacManus Susan A.
Published: November 2009

The trend in government contracting with minority-owned businesses in a racially and ethnically diverse community (Hillsborough County, Florida) is examined in this article. Using data from the county's Minority Business Enterprise program for FY 1987 and FY 1988, three hypotheses are tested and confirmed: (1) Getting contracts is related to the degree of economic and social assimilation of a racial or ethnic group; (2) getting contracts is related to the size of the minority population; and (3) getting contracts is related to the degree to which a minority group is incorporated into the political system. Through an analysis of the drop-out rate of the minority businesses participating in the program, a market explanation of this phenomenon is offered.
Convergence in World Urbanization?
Authors: Smith David A. , London Bruce
Published: November 2009

Cross-national data are used to explore the question of whether world urban patterns and processes are converging or diverging. We compare tabular data on overall percent urban, urban primacy, overurbanization, and urban bias across world-system strata and global regions. The evidence suggests continuing differences and little evidence for convergence. To determine whether world-system effects have causal efficacy, we conclude with a regression analysis. These results provide strong evidence for a world-system explanation of continuing differences in overall level of urbanization and urban primacy, and a developmentalist approach seems to explain persisting divergence in levels of urban bias.
Extractive Regions in Developed Countries
Authors: Feagin Joe R.
Published: November 2009

In this article extraction economies in less developed countries are compared to extraction economies in developed countries—to the Houston, Texas, and Aberdeen, Scotland, petroleum regions. The following questions are addressed: (1) What are the differences in Houston's and Aberdeen's development as petroleum regions? (2) How has their extractive development differed from that in less developed countries? (3) What is the relationship of early layers of development to later extractive investments? (4) How have capital timing and scale shaped Houston's and Aberdeen's development as urban regions? The historical timing of oil discoveries greatly affects the way oil capital builds up and exfoliates relationally in urban regions.
Stage Models of Gentrification
Authors: Kerstein Robert
Published: November 2009

Some researchers have contended that stage models are useful to help explain the dynamics of gentrification. Neighborhood change in the Hyde Park section of Tampa, Florida, is analyzed in this article to evaluate empirically the validity of certain components of the stage models and to present some conclusions concerning the general usefulness of the stage models in examining neighborhood change. The models provide a helpful framework within which to examine gentrification, but they must be refined to reflect that gentrification is a more chaotic concept than the models have thus far explicitly acknowledged.
Industrial Change and Urban Joblessness
Authors: Moore Thomas S. , Laramore Aaron
Published: November 2009

An ecological analysis of the relationship between a changing urban labor market and the employment status of blacks and nonblacks, both male and female, is presented in this article. The results indicate that the urban black work force is increasingly concentrated in areas with low employment growth, that differences in the level of local labor-market demand are more important than the sectoral composition of that demand for understanding racial differences in employment outcomes, and that educational level is significantly associated with the employment status of nonblacks only. These findings provide a basis for assessing recent versions of the mismatch hypothesis.
Local Government Fragmentation
Authors: Dolan Drew A.
Published: November 2009

For decades a debate has lingered about the ramifications of local government fragmentation, and the arguments traditionally are based on political ideologies and impressionistic views rather than on empirical analysis. In this empirical study, a fiscal perspective is added to the issue. A fragmentation measure, based on the dispersion of expenditures among local governments, is used to examine the relationship between fragmentation and the cost of government in Illinois, including the very fragmented Chicago metropolitan region. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between fragmentation and the cost of government.
The Urban Transformation of a Landmark Event
Authors: Hiller Harry H.
Published: November 2009

The urban impact of such landmark events as Olympics and world's fairs usually has been evaluated by focusing on aspects of urban renewal or planning, and they usually are understood as representative of elitist interests because of the resulting visibility and economic growth. Examining the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics with a sociological focus reveals that through an interactive process involving urban residents, this elitist event became a more populist urban festival. The result is a new perspective on the urban meaning of such landmark events, illustrating that positive emotions can be sustained in cities, in contrast to the usual negative emotions that are produced by urban problems.
Type II Policy and Mandated Benefits in Economic Development
Authors: Goetz Edward G.
Published: November 2009

Economic development policy in the United States is dominated by public subsidy and incentive programs designed to induce private sector investment. The market-generated benefits of increased private investment are assumed to justify the public expense of such programs. The author argues that a second type of development policy exists, called Type llpolicy, that is based on a conflicting set of assumptions and that mandates public benefits by requiring private developers to provide direct economic and social goods. An analysis of policy in 281 localities shows that Type II programs are widespread, are strongly associated with higher levels of community-based activity in the economic development arena, and are not restricted to prosperous locations.
The Limits of Localism
Authors: Dreier Peter , Keating W. Dennis
Published: November 2009

The progressive housing policies of populist Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn are described and analyzed in this article. Flynn's progressive housing policies are contrasted with those of his liberal predecessor, Kevin White. Boston's housing crisis and politics are described. The authors argue that Flynn's progressive housing policies have resulted in better housing conditions for Boston's poor and working-class citizenry, advocacy of progressive housing policies, empowerment of tenant and neighborhood organizations, and development of a nationally recognized model of nonprofit housing. Nevertheless, the authors argue that no city government by itself can solve a city's housing problems equitably without much greater federal assistance than is provided currently.
Neighborhoods and Public-Private Partnerships in Pittsburgh
Authors: Jezierski Louise
Published: November 2009

The long-term impact of public-private partnerships as a governing structure has not been adequately explored. In Pittsburgh, neighborhood groups have struggled to participate in the partnership's revitalization agenda. Their participation often is recognized as necessary for legitimation purposes, but they are often excluded from influencing economic development policy. Theories of incorporation and corporatism provide some insight into the possibilities and limits of including neighborhood interests in partnerships. A dynamic of consent best explains why neighborhood interests are often in contradiction with partnership agendas and why there are inherent limits to legitimacy in partnership structures.
Blacks and Jobs
Authors: Schneider Mark , Phelan Thomas
Published: November 2009

A critical problem facing American society is the growing physical separation of racial minority groups from the jobs being created in suburbia. This separation has at least two dimensions. The first, and the one that has attracted the most attention, is the continued concentration of racial minority groups in central cities, where they are isolated from the growing number of jobs in suburbia. Although this city/suburban dichotomy has been recognized, the physical separation of jobs from minority groups that are located within suburbia itself is of increasing importance—but this phenomenon has not been widely studied. In this research note, the authors concentrate on the relationship between spatial patterns of suburban job growth and black suburbanization.
The Origins of Urban Political Machines in the United States
Authors: DiGaetano Alan
Published: November 2009

Scholarly interest in and debate about urban political machines waxed considerably in the 1980s. What is curious about urban political machines is their appearance in the United States. Using the analytical framework of American exceptionalism, the author compares late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century urban political development in Germany, France, England, and the United States in an attempt to identify the distinctive features of the American context that fostered the rise of urban political machines.
Maintaining Racially Diverse Neighborhoods
Authors: Saltman Juliet
Published: November 2009

The author presents some results of a study of organized neighborhood integration maintenance efforts in 15 urban communities across the country since 1956. Theoretical insights from three sociological fields are interwoven: race relations, social movements, and urban communities. Based on field research, sociohistorical review, and census data, three analytical models are described and contrasted representing success, failure, and conditional attempts in this movement effort. Factors of success and failure indicate the critical role of external forces and institutional processes in this social movement. Successful movement programs that maintain neighborhood integration while expanding regional housing choices are reviewed, and policy implications are presented.
Black-White Housing Segregation in the City of St. Louis
Authors: Farley John E.
Published: November 2009

Data from the 1988 St. Louis Dress Rehearsal Census are used to measure trends in residential segregation between decennial censuses. From 1940 through 1980, St. Louis city exhibited a persistent pattern of segregation, and through 1980, an exceptionally high proportion of its white population lived in exclusively white areas. Between 1980 and 1988, segregation declined significantly at both the tract and block levels and interracial exposure increased, suggesting a decline in the propensity of whites to move out of all-white areas that become minimally integrated. There was an overall decline in white out-migration from the city, implying that citywide net migration influences neighborhood integration potential. Still, St. Louis remains quite segregated compared to 1980 national averages.
Apprehending the City
Authors: Orum Anthony M.
Published: November 2009

A number of key insights about American cities are synthesized in this article, and a sorely neglected feature of them, their territorial sovereignty, is emphasized. The author argues first that cities must be seen as sovereign territorial systems. As such, cities engage in continuing struggles with other sovereign powers in America, including suburbs, states, and the federal government. The directions of many such systems derive from a dominant system of meaning - growth. Growth shapes the city, and once it impinges on the lives of citizens, it fosters their dissent. The author urges greater empirical attention to "thick histories" to refine the argument.
Explaining Trends in Racial Segregation, 1970-1980
Authors: Massey Douglas S. , Gross Andrew B.
Published: November 2009

The authors argue that white racial attitudes have shifted from a universal rejection of blacks as potential neighbors to an acceptance of open housing in principle—but not in practice. As a result, 1970-1980 declines in racial segregation were confined to metropolitan areas where the number of blacks was so small that desegregation could be accommodated without threatening white preferences for limited interracial contact. Although new housing construction created an impetus for integration in some areas by increasing the proportion of homes built under the Fair Housing Act, most urban blacks lived in older urban areas where new housing was quite limited.
Organized Labor and Los Angeles City Politics
Authors: Regalado James A.
Published: November 2009

African-American voters, Westside Jewish liberals, corporate downtown interests, and organized labor have formed the Mayor Tom Bradley coalition in the city of Los Angeles from 1973 through 1989. Although widespread attention has been given the other coalition sectors, little attention has been given to the relationship between Bradley and the city's trade-union movement. A major contention in this article is that discussions and analyses of Bradley and the city's politics from 1973 through 1989 have been incomplete because they have ignored labor as an influential coalition partner and player.
Whither the Public-Private Partnership
Authors: Stephenson Max O.
Published: November 2009

The conceptual underpinnings of the public-private partnership idea are examined from the vantage point of whether such entities can produce economically efficient outcomes, can be considered politically effective, can prove administratively feasible, and can equitably distribute the benefits that they purchase. The author concludes by addressing the issue of what the future may hold for such collaborations.
Promoting Economic Development
Authors: Green Gary P. , Fleischmann Arnold
Published: November 2009

The authors use survey and census data to compare the economic development policies of central cities, suburbs, and nonmetropolitan communities. Regional competition is strongly associated with the number of development programs adopted by all three types of communities, but several important differences exist among them. Central-city governments are most active in promoting development, with population size exerting a positive influence on development activities. For suburbs, the poverty rate is positively related to development effort. In nonmetropolitan communities, involvement by the city government in economic development exhibits a strong positive relationship with the number of development programs adopted.
Deracialization as an Analytical Construct in American Urban Politics
Authors: Perry Huey L.
Published: November 2009

The author examines the usefulness of the deracialization concept as an analytical construct for explaining contemporary American urban politics. Deracialization is a useful concept for explaining recent black electoral victories because several African-American candidates have successfully employed this campaign strategy. As an electoral strategy, deracialization is especially useful to African-American candidates running in majority-white districts and jurisdictions. Deracialization as a campaign strategy does not automatically lead to deracialized governance. Black elected officials who conduct deracialized campaigns often pursue themes of racial justice in their governance.
Deracialization in the Deep South
Authors: Pierannunzi Carol A. , Hutcheson John D.
Published: November 2009

The concept of deracialization is examined in an election in which all major candidates are black. Citizen characteristics and opinions expressed in a telephone survey are used to predict candidate preference. Findings indicate that race remains an important factor in electoral behavior, even when all candidates are black. The successful candidate, Maynard Jackson, drew support across race and class lines and may be said to have run a deracialized campaign. This research suggests that a clarification of the interaction of race and class and their effects in municipal elections is essential for understanding voting behavior and deracialization in city elections.
The Daniels Election in New Haven and the Failure of the Deracialization Hypothesis
Authors: Summers Mary E. , Klinkner Philip A.
Published: November 2009

Some observers claim that recent victories by African-American candidates result from deracialized strategies based upon centrist appeals to white voters. Some critics accept this analysis but argue that these politicians inevitably abandon the interests of the black community. The authors reject these contentions and use the example of John Daniels' 1989 mayoral victory in New Haven, Connecticut, to show that black candidates can use their race and progressive positions to appeal to both whites and blacks. Furthermore, despite severe fiscal constraints, Daniels' governing coalition has worked to reform the police department and improve human services.
St. Louis's Black-White Elections
Authors: Stein Lana , Kohfeld Carol W.
Published: November 2009

This research combines electoral data by precinct with demographic data to demonstrate that race alone is not the determinant of at-large electoral outcomes in St. Louis. In St. Louis, a long history of machine factionalism affects the behavior of black and white politicians and influences when and under what conditions blacks vote for whites and whites vote for blacks. The black-white dichotomy that is clearly evident in St. Louis society works against election of nonwhites citywide, but the city's political culture and structure also play a role in determining who is elected.
Neighborhood Development and Local Credit Markets
Authors: Hula Richard C.
Published: November 2009

The author reconsiders the relationship between race and geographic location with the allocation of home credit by private sector lending institutions. Using a national data set for the years 1981 through 1987, the author tests the relative explanatory power of race, location, and a number of market variables. The initial analysis suggests that race is less important than is sometimes asserted in the literature. Several alternative explanations for this weak relationship are discussed.
The Contributions of Metropolitan Government to the Success of Toronto's Public Transit System
Authors: Frisken Frances
Published: November 2009

The development of Toronto's public transit system since 1953, when it became a responsibility of Metropolitan Toronto, is the focus of an evaluation of the way Metro's two-tier system of local government has performed. The analysis suggests that the operation of metropolitan institutions has contributed to the relative success of Toronto's transit system in a number of ways, although usually in conjunction with other factors. This conclusion points to several limitations in the way public-choice theorists define the requirements for meaningful analysis and comparison of the performance of alternative arrangements for governing metropolitan areas.
Urban County Fiscal Stress
Authors: Downing R. G.
Published: November 2009

Data obtained from 67% of U.S. urban county governments surveyed in 1988-1989 relate to the meaning of fiscal stress and its causes, forms of stress experienced, and respondent actions taken to alleviate fiscal problems. Stress indicators judged to have the highest validity (debt default and inability to meet payrolls) were rarely evident, yet vulnerability to less severe forms of stress was relatively widespread and not limited to any class of chronically distressed counties. Chief causes of stress were changes in the intergovernmental fiscal system-not structural economic or demographic changes. Responses to stress conformed more to an organizational-political rationality model than to the garbage-can model of decision making.
City Intervention
Authors: Bowman Ann O'M. , Pagano Michael A.
Published: November 2009

City governments are actively involved in enhancing the development potential of their territories. They mobilize public capital to influence development. In this article, a conceptual framework is constructed around two factors that trigger the mobilization of public capital: (1) a perception of imbalance between a city's competitive tax burden and service-delivery levels and (2) city officials' vision of the appropriate place for their city amid what they consider to be relevant cities. Trigger mechanisms produce four city-level orientations to development that are labeled survivalist, market, expansionist, and maintenance. In an application of the conceptual framework, data are presented from representative cities.
Defining City Limits
Authors: Henig Jeffrey R.
Published: November 2009

The conclusion that cities are unable to engage in redistributive policies, as Peterson forcefully articulated in City Limits, tests on an image of citizens and officials pursuing self-evident interests through an objectively determined environment In this article the author proposes a more active view of the relationship between people and their interests-one in which political actors are seen as aggressively and continually reinterpreting and redefining their interests in an uncertain and undetermined world - and sketches the analytic, empirical, and normative implications of this alternative view.
Coproduction of Law Enforcement Services
Authors: Koven Steven G.
Published: November 2009

Implications of law enforcement coproduction are investigated in this article. It is asserted that coproduction of law enforcement services will not be neutral in terms of neighborhood impact. A zero-sum game scenario is postulated as resulting from displacement of crime wherein gains in the quality of law enforcement services for some neighborhoods coincide with losses for other neighborhoods. Heuristic designs that explicate the differential neighborhood implications of law enforcement coproduction, as well as the implications of law enforcement coproduction on perceptions of police performance, are formulated.
How the Urban West was Won
Authors: Erie Steven P.
Published: November 2009

The author examines early Los Angeles's transition from an essentially entrepreneurial growth regime (1880-1906) to a more state-centered growth regime (1906-1932). The analysis highlights the role of public infrastructure projects-water, power, and the harbor- and of powerful local bureaucracies, such as the Department of Water and Power, in shaping the region's Progressive Era development. Los Angeles's reliance upon a public strategy of economic development is placed in comparative regional perspective. In the early twentieth century, the local state served as a key instrument of economic development throughout the urban West.
The Continuing Saga of Municipal Reform
Authors: Anechiarico Frank , Jacobs James B.
Published: November 2009

Governmental responses to corruption are embedded in urban politics and public administration. Rather than attempting a general theory of official corruption in local government, the authors present a case study of New York City's response to a severe corruption scandal in the late 1980s. They show how public administration is driven by responses to scandals and attempts to deter them. Ethics reform from the Progressive Era to the present fit into three ideal-typical anticorruption strategies. The authors explain how these strategies have changed over time and focus particularly on the increasing dominance of the crime-control strategy.
Municipal Consolidation
Authors: Bunch Beverly S. , Strauss Robert P.
Published: November 2009

The authors analyze the expenditures and revenues associated with the potential consolidation of nine small, fiscally distressed municipalities in western Pennsylvania that have lost substantial portions of their tax base as a result of the closing of steel mills and related heavy industry. The analysis includes the collection of consistent financial information, the creation of forecasted base-case 1989 revenue-and-expenditure scenarios, and their juxtaposition for the nine jurisdictions against consolidation scenarios that might provide cost savings while maintaining critical service levels. Consolidation may provide a method for eliminating chronic operating deficits; economies of scale could be realized for small municipalities should they consolidate.
Growth Politics and Downtown Development
Authors: Turner Robyne S.
Published: November 2009

Urban areas dominated by growth do not follow the same progrowth strategies for development. Some cities have adopted development policies that seek to redistribute the costs and benefits of downtown economic development. This is not necessarily, however, an antigrowth strategy but is, rather, a progressive growth agenda. In this comparative study, the characteristics of growth politics are examined through downtown development strategies that affect commercial development and neighborhood housing. The distribution of costs and benefits of such development to commercial and residential sectors indicates different public/private relationships that can be found within growth politics.
Dynamics of the U.S. System of Cities, 1950 to 1980
Authors: Lynch Jean , Meyer David R.
Published: November 2009

Large law firms constitute integral components of the corporate complexes of cities. Analyses of data from 75 cities between 1950 and 1980 demonstrate that the increasing numbers, sizes, and branching of these corporate law firms correspond closely to the long-term processes of urban growth and change. The hierarchy of linked metropolises compose the key structure within which these firms operate. A governmental network headed by Washington, D.C., which also includes state capitals, overlaps it.
Housing Adjustments among Older Home Owners
Authors: Quercia Roberto G. , Rohe William M.
Published: November 2009

Older home owners who have more housing than they need yet also have difficulty meeting other basic needs-who are housing rich and income poor-may have the most incentive to adjust their housing conditions to augment their postretirement income. A test of a revised model of housing adjustment is presented that indicates that, indeed, such households are more likely to undertake both moving and nonmoving adjustments than are other households. The findings are used to assess the likely effects of two types of public programs on the choice of housing-adjustment mechanisms by older home owners.
Minority Unemployment, Labor Market Segmentation, and the Failure of Job-Training Policy in New York City
Authors: Lafer Gordon
Published: November 2009

Job-training policy rests on the assumptions that employment opportunities are plentiful, if only everyone were adequately educated, and that increasing the upward mobility of black and Hispanic workers serves the interests of employers as well as employees. These assumptions are challenged. Data are presented suggesting that there simply are not enough decently paying jobs for the number of people who need them. Labor market segmentation and the interest of employers in maintaining a racially segregated work force are dicussed as contributing to the shortage of "good" jobs and as creating barriers to upward mobility for minority workers.
Organized Capital and Local Politics
Authors: Pierre Jon
Published: November 2009

Many analyses of urban political economy tend to overlook the significance of local business organizations and public-private committees in the urban political process. This article analyzes local business organizations and joint committees in Swedish municipalities. Political stability seems more important than ideological orientation of the local political elite for the creation of joint committees. Business influence on local politics is contingent on the institutionalized forms of public-private interaction. Business demands on local politics cover almost all urban service sectors, and local authorities have largely responded to these demands.
Corporate Service Linkages in Large Metropolitan Areas
Authors: Schwartz Alex
Published: November 2009

Some urban analysts contend that suburbs provide the same economic functions as the central city, and others argue that they lack the agglomeration economies necessary for high-level corporate activities, especially financial, business, and professional services. The author compares the suburbs and central cities of the nation's three largest consolidated metropolitan statistical areas-New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago-as providers of several corporate services, analyzing where the largest companies obtain accounting, actuarial, banking, investment banking, and legal services. Both central-city-and suburban-based companies rely mostly on central-city-based service providers, and this reliance increases with company size.
Fiscal Pressure?
Authors: Rosentraub Mark S.
Published: November 2009

Several states and cities have developed policies designed to attract retirees, hoping to position their communities as future homes for the retirement years of high-spending, low-service-consuming elders. In this article, attention is focused on issues of public expenditures. Although near-retirement-age populations seem to have lower demands for public goods, these preferences quickly change, and communities with larger proportions of postretirement people in their population spend more for public services. Political tensions may result. Thus there may be no economic boom in attracting retirement or preretirement-age populations to a community.
The Politics of Economic Development
Authors: Keating Michael
Published: November 2009

Global economic trends and local political pressures are forcing cities into competition for economic development. This phenomenon, well documented in the American literature, is now visible in Europe. Yet, the impact of economic trends is mediated by national political factors. In the United States, Britain, and France, local politics is being reconstituted, with the emergence of interclass, place-based development coalitions. These do not correspond to a single growth machine model but take differing forms in different national contexts.
Post-Machine Regimes and the Growth of Government
Authors: Miranda Rowan A.
Published: November 2009

In this study, the author outlines and tests the strong party organization (SPO) theory of urban fiscal politics. The theory states that cities governed by SPOs are better able to maintain fiscal discipline because they are less responsive to prospending interest groups. This case study of Chicago finds mixed support for the SPO theory. The informal centralization provided by the political machine may have enabled Mayor Richard J. Daley to adopt fiscally conservative policies. Post-machine regimes, however, have been only modestly successful in implementing expansionary fiscal policies, contrary to the predictions of the SPO theory. Several other patterns in Chicago's recent fiscal history are somewhat more consistent with the SPO theory.
Harold Washington and the Black Urban Regime
Authors: Bennett Larry
Published: November 2009

Although commentators on the mayoral administration of Chicago's Harold Washington have typically described either a progressive-city government or a black machine, a third approach to characterizing Washington's political coalition and administrative program is offered by the black-urban-regime metaphor. By examining the Washington administration as a black urban regime, one can specify how local factors constrained the policymaking of Chicago's first African-American mayor and can identify lessons from the Washington experience applicable to minority municipal administrations in other U.S. cities.
Estimating the First and (Some of the) Third Faces of Community Power
Authors: Schumaker Paul
Published: November 2009

The author provides an approach to estimating two dimensions of community power. The analysis of the first face of power concerns the direct causal impact of elected representatives, bureaucrats, notables, group leaders, individual activists, and citizens on policy decisions. The analysis of the third face of power concerns the capacity of such actors to influence policies indirectly by influencing the preferences of other actors. An examination of 28 issues in Lawrence, Kansas, suggests that only representatives significantly exercise the first face of power and that only group leaders may exercise the third face of power (through their ability to influence the preferences of representatives).
Are there Election-Driven Tax-and-Expenditure Cycles for Urban Governments?
Authors: Strate John , Wolman Harold , Melchior Alan
Published: November 2009

Do tax-and-expenditure cycles exist at the city level? Local politicians cannot manipulate the economy to improve their own or their party's electoral prospects and thereby produce apolitical business cycle. However, they can manipulate tax revenues and expenditures over the election cycle, with some constraints. Using data from medium-and large-sized U.S. cities from 1978 through 1985, the authors found evidence that tax-revenue cycles exist in many cities with mayor-council governments, where politicians prefer to cut taxes or avoid tax increases in fiscal years when an election is imminent. There was little evidence, however, of operating expenditure cycles.
Urban Transportation: Who Governs?
Authors: Lefevre Christian , Offner Jean-Marc
Published: November 2009

Governments and the urban transportation business agree that local transportation policies should be more comprehensive, linking projects involving public transportation, parking and traffic, city planning, and the like. In France, however, these different responsibilities are dispersed among several local institutions because of the difficulties of cooperation between cities. There is no transit authority capable of managing all these questions technically and politically. This task of bringing coherence to actions in different fields could be contracted out to the private sector. There is, however, a risk that this system would reduce local elected representatives' legitimate power of decision, and other, more informal methods of coordination should be promoted.
Federal Housing Policy and Hud
Authors: Bratt Rachel G. , Keating W. Dennis
Published: November 2009

The authors first review the origins and birth of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Second, they analyze four recurrent types of problems: (1) lack of consistent presidential and congressional support for low-income housing and urban aid, (2) primary reliance upon the private sector to meet housing needs, (3) HUD's structure, internal conflicts, and shortcomings, and (4) the complexity of housing and urban problems. Third, they recommend three major changes: (1) splitting HUD into two agencies to deal separately with housing and urban development, (2) merging all federal housing programs into the new housing agency, and (3) creating a national housing bank. Finally, they advocate the adoption of progressive housing policies to better benefit poorer housing consumers.
Economic Development Policy
Authors: Spindler Charles J. , Forrester John P.
Published: November 2009

Economic development policy in the United States is at a critical juncture. The changing world economic order, global competition, and economic stagnation at home have prompted calls for reform. Yet, the growing recognition of the problems that confront the economy has not produced a coherent set of strategies to address these issues. These authors focus on political and bureaucratic factors that retard the reform of economic development policy. An understanding of how these factors shape economic development policy is critical to proposing workable reforms. This analysis of the dynamics of economic development policy provides information about the relationship between government and the people.
Urban Regimes in Comparative Perspective
Authors: DiGaetano Alan , Klemanski John S.
Published: November 2009

Until now urban regime analysts focused almost entirely on cities in the United States. In this article the authors broaden the definition of urban regimes to fit the British urban experience, then seek to trace the formation of regimes in Birmingham and Bristol during the 1980s. The formulation and implementation of specific economic development strategies and policies for each of these two cases is detailed, and finally, an evaluation of regime capacity for each is explored.
Political Support for Regional Government in the 1990s
Authors: Gerston Larry N. , Haas Peter J.
Published: November 2009

Regional government, in its various forms, has long been advocated as a necessary condition, for addressing the problems that plague modern urban areas with multiple jurisdictions. Political support for regional approaches has been scant, however, particularly among residents of suburban areas who ostensibly covet the political independence of their suburban municipalities. The authors present the results of a survey of likely voters in a suburban area, Santa Clara County in California, and find widespread support for regional governance. Support for regional approaches was consistent for both general and specific measures and did not vary considerably among demographic subgroups. The authors link this support to the perceived growth of urban problems in the vicinity, such as congestion and pollution.
Urban, Suburban, or Rural Location as a Proxy Measure of Need
Authors: Harlow Karen S.
Published: November 2009

The author explores findings from the 1986 Longitudinal Supplement on Aging to determine the appropriateness of using proxy variables, including urban/rural location, as indicators of need among elderly residents. The application of regression models using proxies typical for distributional decisions against seven measures of need indicates that biasing in favor of rural elders may be an ineffective strategy. Reliance on proxy measures may result in inefficient and inequitable methods for distribution of funds within states. An expanded definition of need is recommended for distributional decisions.