Urban Politics
A Reader

Edited by:

Stephen J. McGovern - Haverford University, USA, Haverford College, USA

Other Titles in:
Urban Politics & Policy

March 2016 | 568 pages | CQ Press

Urban Politics: A Reader examines the evolving structure of political power in American cities. It reveals how changes in society relate to the global and national economy, immigration and internal migration, racial and ethnic transition, and how technological advances affect city politics. The text illuminates the paradox that while we are living in an era of increasing globalization, politics at the local level is more important than ever. The collection of classic and contemporary readings by respected scholars, as well as politicians, journalists, and activists, enables readers to hear multiple voices explain how and why city politics works while assuring a thorough encounter with the rich variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, economic, and ideological perspectives that constitute the urban mosaic. Editor Stephen J. McGovern integrates material not commonly found in urban politics texts while considering a wide array of large and small cities throughout the United States. The reader includes an introductory essay at the beginning of each chapter that provides historical and conceptual context and a section following each chapter that invites students to reflect on how urban politics affects pressing policy issues facing city residents today. Taken together, Urban Politics: A Reader deepens our understanding of how cities are governed, nurtures thoughtful discussion and debate, and cultivates a concern for the vitality and well-being of urban places.

Chapter 1: Cities in a Global Era

Introduction

1-1 Richard C. Longworth, “Urban America: U.S. Cities in the Global Era”

1-2 Alan Ehrenhalt, “The Great Inversion”

1-3 Alan Mallach, “The Uncoupling of the Economic City: Increasing Spatial and Economic Polarization in American Older Cities”

Conclusion

Part I: THE FORMATION OF URBAN POLITICS

Chapter 2: Politics in the Preindustrial City

Introduction

2-1 Alan Tully, “The Ruling Elite”

2-2 Sam Bass Warner Jr., “The Environment of Private Opportunity”

2-3 Daniel J. Boorstin, “The Businessman as City Booster"

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Machine Politics

Introduction

3-1 William L. Riorden, “To Hold Your District: Study Human Nature and Act Accordin’”

3-2 Robert Merton, “The Latent Functions of the Machine”

3-3 Alexander Callow, “That Impudent Autocrat”

Public Policy Applications: The Administration of City Government

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Reform Politics

Introduction

4-1 Andrew D. White, “The Government of American Cities”

4-2 Jacob A. Riis, “Genesis of the Tenement”

4-3 Stanley Schultz, “The Engineered Metropolis”

4-4 Samuel P. Hays, “The Politics of Reform in Municipal Government in the Progressive Era”

Conclusion

PART II: URBAN POLITICS UNDER STRESS

Chapter 5: Suburbanization and the Hollowing of the City

Introduction

5-1 Kenneth T. Jackson, “The Loss of Community in Metropolitan America”

5-2 Peter Dreier, John H. Mollenkopf, and Todd Swanstrom, “The Roads Not Taken: How Federal Policies Promote Economic Segregation and Suburban Sprawl”

5-3 Michael N. Danielson, “Suburban Autonomy”

5-4 Arnold R. Hirsch, “The Second Ghetto and the Dynamics of Neighborhood Change”

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Deindustrialization and the Rise of the Postindustrial City

Introduction

6-1 Thomas Sugrue, “‘The Damning Mark of False Prosperities’: The Deindustrialization of Detroit”

6-2 Jon C. Teaford, “The Problem Perceived”

6-3 Joel Rast, “Creating a Unified Business Elite: The Origins of the Chicago Central Area Committee”

6-4 Guian A. McKee, “Liberals, Race, and Jobs in Postwar Philadelphia”

Conclusion

Chapter 7: Race, Protest, and Backlash

Introduction

7-1 Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton, “Black Power: Its Needs and Substance”

7-2 Bayard Rustin, “From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement”

7-3 Jonathan Rieder, “The Fenced Land” and “The Lost People”

Conclusion

Chapter 8: Crisis

Introduction

8-1 Paul S. O’Hara, “‘The Very Model of Urban Decay’: Outsiders’ Narratives of Industry and Urban Decline in Gary, Indiana”

8-2 Jonathan Kozol, “Children of the Invincible City: Camden, New Jersey”

8-3 Paul Peterson, “The Interests of the Limited City”

8-4 Carl Abbott, “Urbanizing the South”

Conclusion

PART III: THE POLITICS OF URBAN REVITALIZATION

Chapter 9: Cities in a Federal System

Introduction

9-1 Tracy Neumann, “Privatization, Devolution, and Jimmy Carter’s National Urban Policy”

9-2 Peter Eisinger, “City Politics in the Era of Federal Devolution”

9-3 Karen M. Paget, “Can Cities Escape Political Isolation?”

9-4 Carl Abbott, “The Portland Region: Where City and Suburbs Talk to Each Other—and Often Agree”

Conclusion

Chapter 10: Grassroots Activism

Introduction

10-1 Saul D. Alinsky, Excerpts from Reveille for Radicals

10-2 Mark R. Warren, “A Theology of Organizing: From Alinsky to the Modern IAF”

10-3 Michael B. Katz, “Why Don’t American Cities Burn Very Often?”

Conclusion

Chapter 11: Regime Politics

Introduction

11-1 Clarence N. Stone, “Urban Regimes: A Research Perspective” and “Conclusion"

11-2 Raphael J. Sonenshein, “Conclusions and Implications: Toward a New Contract for Biracial Politics”

11-3 Jason Hackworth, “The Public-Private Partnership”

11-4 Paul Kantor and H. V. Savitch, “Can Politicians Bargain with Business? A Theoretical and Comparative Perspective on Urban Development”

Conclusion

PART IV: CHANGING DYNAMICS OF URBAN POLITICS

Chapter 12: Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary Urban Politics

Introduction

12-1 Andra Gillespie, “Meet the New Class: Theorizing Young Black Leadership in a ‘Postracial’ Era”

12-2 Adolph Reed Jr., “Demobilization in the New Black Political Regime: Ideological Capitulation and Radical Failure in the Post-Segregation Era”

12-3 Arnold R. Hirsch and A. Lee Levert, “The Katrina Conspiracies: The Problem of Trust in Rebuilding an American City”

Conclusion

Chapter 13: Immigration and Contemporary Urban Politics

Introduction

13-1 Audrey Singer, “Contemporary Immigrant Gateways in Historical Perspective”

13-2 Domenic Vitiello, “The Politics of Immigration and Suburban Revitalization: Divergent Responses in Adjacent Pennsylvania Towns”

13-3 Zoltan Hajnal and Jessica Trounstine, “What Underlies Urban Politics? Race, Class, Ideology, Partisanship, and the Urban Vote”

Conclusion

Part V: VISIONS OF URBAN POLITICS TODAY

Chapter 14: Contemporary Approaches to Urban Governance

Introduction

14-1 Larry Bennett, “The Mayor among His Peers: Interpreting Richard M. Daley”

14-2 Stephen Goldsmith, “The Story of America’s Cities” and “Making a Market”

14-3 Julian Brash, “Running Government like a Business”

14-4 Thad Williamson, “Justice, the Public Sector, and Cities: Relegitimating the Activist State”

Conclusion

“A major strength of Urban Politics: A Reader is the retention of the historical origins of urban politics while at the same time balancing the contemporary relevance of urban governance. I particularly like the book’s focus on the debate about power in American cities, and McGovern’s choice to highlight the significance of smaller cities in understanding urban politics is an added bonus.”

Linda Trautman

Ohio University

“The collection of readings in Urban Politics: A Reader provides a rich set of insights into the political forces that influence the shape and pace of urban development. The integration of writings from politicians and journalists sprinkled throughout are well done, and their perspectives can shed a good deal of light on urban issues.”

Petra Doan

Florida State University

“McGovern’s Urban Politics: A Reader embraces the fundamental concepts, theories, and themes that guide the study of urban politics. It is complementary to other urban politics texts, comprehensive for undergraduate study, well organized, and long overdue.”

Dana D. Dyson

University of Michigan-Flint

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