The leftmost city
Subtitle: power and progressive politics in Santa Cruz
By: Richard Gendron and G. William Domhoff.
Contributors: Domhoff, G. William.
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Boulder, CO
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780813344386
Subjects: Political participation -- California -- Santa Cruz; Political activists -- California -- Santa Cruz; Coalitions -- California -- Santa Cruz; Coalitions -- Case studies; Progressivism (United States politics) -- Case studies; Santa Cruz (Calif.) -- Politics and government
Genres: Case studies.
Description: "Almost all U.S. cities are controlled by real estate and development interests, but Santa Cruz, California, is a deviant case. An unusual coalition of socialist-feminists, environmentalists, social-welfare liberals, and neighborhood activists has stopped every growth project proposed by landowners and developers since 1969 and controlled the city council since 1981. Drawing on hundreds of primary documents, as well as original, previously unpublished interviews, The Leftmost City utilizes an extended case study of Santa Cruz to critique major theories of urban power: Marxism, public choice theory, and regime theory. Santa Cruz is presented within the context of other progressive attempts to shape city government, and the authors' flndings support growth coalition theory, which stresses the conflict between real estate interests and neighborhoods as the fundamental axis of urban politics.

The authors apply insights gleaned from Santa Cruz to progressive movements nationwide, offering a template for progressive coalitions to effectively organize to achieve political power."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The leftmost city in America; title: The rise and decline of the Santa Cruz growth coalition; title: The rebirth and defeat of the Santa Cruz growth coalition; title: The progressive coalition in power; title: Shaking up the power structure; title: Progressives versus progressives over growth and neighborhoods; title: Fault lines of power.