Urban Affairs Annual Reviews - Böcker

Transforming American Government explores the "reinventing of government" and the dramatic policy changes that affect both the scope and scale of government. Devolution, privatization, and dismantling of state functions are forcing us to search for new divisions of responsibility among national, state, and local governments. At the heart of this reorganization is the issue of geographically distributing power and resources on a diverse map of regional conditions and political cultures. This assemblage of social scientists analyzes the impetus, nature, and impact of state devolution. While debates over such changes typically center on economic, political, and social change, these authors shift the debate to an examination of the complex geographical implications of devolution. In a society as territorially fragmented and diverse as the U.S., changes in the form and function of government are experienced differently in different parts of the country. This comprehensive volume details the outcomes of restructuring and explores how the redistribution of resources and responsibilities affects the lives of all Americans.

The modern city extends beyond its physical borders, pervading all aspects of our society. From corporate globalization and political upheaval to educational reform and ethnic social movements, the city is the first to experience massive change. While less populous regions look on for inspiration, the city acts and reacts, creating and shaping the world's future. Celebrating 30 years of Sage's Urban Affairs Reviews, volume editors Robert A. Beauregard and Sophie Body-Gendrot, with a gathering of the best and brightest in urban scholarship, share their passion for the city as we approach the 21st century. From an interdisciplinary perspective, critical urban theorists explore a variety of discourses for representing the contemporary city. Considering the city's social and physical articulations, the prospects for continued democracy and civic engagement, and interpretations of a "good city," these essays represent the cutting edge of urban studies.

The Urban Moment: Cosmopolitan Essays on the Late 20th Century City is a provocative examination of urban theory, offering European, North American, and South American perspectives. An exciting and comprehensive addition to the series, this book is critical for Urban Studies scholars as well as those studying the city in sociological, political, or cultural disciplines.

The modern city extends beyond its physical borders, pervading all aspects of our society. From corporate globalization and political upheaval to educational reform and ethnic social movements, the city is the first to experience massive change. While less populous regions look on for inspiration, the city acts and reacts, creating and shaping the world's future. Celebrating 30 years of Sage's Urban Affairs Reviews, volume editors Robert A. Beauregard and Sophie Body-Gendrot, with a gathering of the best and brightest in urban scholarship, share their passion for the city as we approach the 21st century. From an interdisciplinary perspective, critical urban theorists explore a variety of discourses for representing the contemporary city. Considering the city's social and physical articulations, the prospects for continued democracy and civic engagement, and interpretations of a "good city," these essays represent the cutting edge of urban studies.

The Urban Moment: Cosmopolitan Essays on the Late 20th Century City is a provocative examination of urban theory, offering European, North American, and South American perspectives. An exciting and comprehensive addition to the series, this book is critical for Urban Studies scholars as well as those studying the city in sociological, political, or cultural disciplines.

Cities in a Global Society is an impressive collection of essays focused on an important global redefinition. Go Global" is a rapidly emerging theme of the 1990s, and this book is the definitive overview of cities that are doing so." --Michael Marien, Editor, Future Survey "This is one of the most significant public policy books to appear.... In essay after essay, this important volume makes clear a simple idea: That the culture, environment and economy of cities are increasingly influenced by forces well beyond the end of Main Street." --Bulletin of Municipal Foreign Policy As the year 2000 approaches, urbanized areas are entering a new era--one in which they will be shaped primarily by their responses to powerful global forces. The editors and contributors to this fascinating and timely volume believe that cities must begin to assess their roles in a global society and establish their strategic position and comparative advantage in the global marketplace. A wide range of essays by noted international scholars shows how national urban policies tend to be reactive, driven by problems rather than by opportunities, consequently reinforcing the passive nature of cities and their dependency on national initiatives. The diversity of their perspectives, analyses, observations, and insights helps to identify and define critical issues that cities are beginning to address as they become more internationally oriented. After first examining the role of cities in society, the contributors present several perspectives on a city futures management model and review strategies for developing global cities. This stimulating volume offers a wide range of innovative responses to these new challenges and will be useful to professionals and students in urban studies, economics, development studies, anthropology, international relations, future studies, political science, political theory, and sociology.

The U.S. military employs large numbers of people, consumes vast amounts of material, and is continually upgrading and changing to meet new strategic circumstances. This has a direct effect on those cities in which military bases and/or contractors are located. Andrew Kirby and the contributors to this provocative volume explore the significant role of federal defense spending--the military-industrial complex--in both regional and urban development. A controversial issue, especially during the military buildup of the Reagan administration, military spending has often been examined in the literature at a macroeconomic level, but seldom from the important perspective presented here of the relationship between the Pentagon and the residents and corporations of local economies. Well-written and expertly edited, The Pentagon and the Cities lays out basic perspectives on the influence of military activity on local economies, the ways in which urban elites have linked development to defense spending, and the growth of political coalitions that resist such expenditures. The contributors competently guide readers through an examination of the historic role of defense expenditure, patterns of regional change, restructuring the military-industrial complex, and the impact and transformation of regional economies. Particular empirical examples highlighted include the cycles of growth and decline of New England's local economies, as well as the free enterprise cities of Houston and Las Vegas. This highly enlightening and stimulating volume is fascinating reading for advanced students and scholars in the areas of urban studies, policy studies, political science, and geography. "The principal purpose of this interesting book is to relate cities to defense and to explain the spatial development of the defense industry. It largely succeeds in both. . . . The book reinforces the perception that the military industry is enormously complex, and whether we build it up or tear it down, it will require a willingness to forgo simple solutions to what is obviously a very complex problem. . . . The book makes an important contribution to the study of the military and cities. It certainly explains much of the geography of defense spending, and it insists upon a connection between cities and defense." --Roger W. Lotchin, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill "The strength of The Pentagon and the Cities, particularly in the last two chapters, is the ability to create linkages between economic, political, and ideological issues. If the democratic process is to be effective in the conversion to a non-militaristic economy, these issues will have to be confronted on an individual and local level." --disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory "The principal purposes of this interesting book are to relate cities to defense and to explain the spatial development of the defense industry. It largely succeeds in both. . . . The book makes an important contribution to the study of the military and cities. It certainly explains much of the geography of defense spending, and it insists upon a connection between cities and defense. . . . this volume is a good place to begin learning about cities and defense spending." --Urban Geography "This volume serves nicely as an introduction to a claim that recently has come to the forefront of the economic development debate in the United States: that defense spending was the implicit national economic development policy in the postwar era. . . . The volume also passes the acid test of utility. I have found numerous occasions to cite it as a reference in both casual and intellectual conversation in recent weeks. . . .The Pentagon and the Cities is quite successful as an overview of the defense expenditure as economic development policy contention. . . . Kirby and his supporting authors have produced a quality, highly readable volume on the implications of defense expenditure for regional economic growth. This book should find a willing market among scholars and practitioners in the field of regional economic development." --Economic Geography "The Pentagon and the Cities is the latest in the series of Urban Affairs Annual Reviews that deal with a timely research question. . . . The papers in this collection lay important groundwork for promising future research in political sociology, work and occupations, and social stratification. The book is at its best when discussing the effects of military spending and its decline on specific communities. . . . The editor and writers are to be commended. . . . The accumulation and description of data on the effects of military spending on local communities present a convincing picture that no sociologist studying local labor markets and political organization can ignore." --Contemporary Sociology

Big City Politics in Transition is a good reference volume packed with much important and up-to-date information. --Environment and Planning "A timely book that revisits the field so well described by Edward Banfield (Big City Politics, 1965) as of the early 1960s but which has changed greatly since then. . . . Each profile shows a high level of research, and the notes provide a thorough bibliography of the literature. A tremendously useful book for readers at all levels." --Choice "This book was inspired by Edward Banfield's Big City Politics of 1965. [In Big City Politics in Transition] the introduction amply justifies the need for a new volume. . . . This multiauthored volume examines thirteen cities: Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Each chapter traces the economic, social, and political changes since 1965 and current political problems. . . . It is impossible to do justice to all thirteen studies in a short review but this book represents a very useful summation of the current state of the major US cities." --Environment and Planning C In 1965 Big City Politics ambitiously attempted to describe the workings of America's big cities, using nine large U.S. cities as examples. By the time it was published, urban racial conflict, declining economic power, and growing concentrations of low-income populations had changed the face of the urban political scene. Big City Politics in Transition examines how government and administration in America's largest cities have changed between 1960 and 1990. The contributors to this intriguing volume trace demographic and economic change over this vital and, at times, turbulent period, explaining what those changes mean for politics, policies, and the general quality of life. The chapters address the demographics and economic base of the cities under consideration, the role and structure of city government, including interaction with state houses, suburbs and Washington, DC, and the roles played by interest groups and political influentials. The cities profiled include: Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Underlying these concerns is an examination of the political character of the city, (the composition and cohesion of the coalitions, groups, organizations, and individual actors that shape major decisions). A balanced and insightful look at urban politics in the late 20th century, this volume will enlighten academics and professionals in urban studies, policy studies, and political science.

In an era of global transition, contemporary grassroots organizing represents the dominant form of resistance available to people who seek to control their lives. It is the basis for restoring public life, empowering individuals and communities, and challenging the state and the capital. Through empirically based case studies and theoretical essays, Mobilizing the Community discusses strategies, tactics, ideology, and leadership often used in grassroots mobilization. It covers citizen initiatives, ethnic self-help organizations, community-based development and service delivery programs, political lobbying and advocacy efforts, political party building, and direct action protest groups. The empowerment of various groups--middle-class suburbanites, the poor, women, gay men, lesbian women, communists, neopopulists, workers, immigrants, hispanics, and blacks--is addressed. This comprehensive volume provides powerful suggestions to scholars, practitioners, and analysts of urban studies and political science, as well as activists. "This is a very useful volume. Its emphasis on the process of community organizing leads to a focus on tactics, strategy, resource acquisition and alliance formation. This compliments the more usual survey studies of movement participants which tend to be static and give equal weight to each individual." --Housing Studies

Gendered analysis of familiar urban topics provides new insights for our understanding of urban studies, not only by counting women who had formerly been invisible but also by integrating their presence into our explanatory frameworks and normative insights. Gender in Urban Research provides an introduction to urbanists who have not considered the implications of gender in their research and contributes to the existing body of work on women and cities. This volume seeks to bridge feminist theories and theories of the state. The selections presented here serve as examples of how this may be done. Issues considered include violence against women, public housing, downtown development, child care, welfare, employment, and the political roles of women and minorities. This volume provides stimulating theoretical and empirical treatments in urban scholarship and is a must-read for students and scholars in urban studies, gender studies, and political science. "These short, most readable chapters illustrate some of the many ways in which women's--and Latinas', poor women's, and African American women's--lives differ from 'the norm'--that is from those of middle-class white male planners and policymakers." --Journal of the American Planning Association

Gendered analysis of familiar urban topics provides new insights for our understanding of urban studies, not only by counting women who had formerly been invisible but also by integrating their presence into our explanatory frameworks and normative insights. Gender in Urban Research provides an introduction to urbanists who have not considered the implications of gender in their research and contributes to the existing body of work on women and cities. This volume seeks to bridge feminist theories and theories of the state. The selections presented here serve as examples of how this may be done. Issues considered include violence against women, public housing, downtown development, child care, welfare, employment, and the political roles of women and minorities. This volume provides stimulating theoretical and empirical treatments in urban scholarship and is a must-read for students and scholars in urban studies, gender studies, and political science. "These short, most readable chapters illustrate some of the many ways in which women's--and Latinas', poor women's, and African American women's--lives differ from 'the norm'--that is from those of middle-class white male planners and policymakers." --Journal of the American Planning Association

Bringing together the thoughts of outstanding contributors, Regional Politics presents a comparative study on the emerging regional nature of local and urban politics. Recent studies tend to focus on the politics and power of internal cities or on suburban areas that have gained incredible strength in the past decade. However, this important volume explores how politics work in the extended metropolis or "functional city"--which includes and surrounds the urban core and whose economy, society, and politics are integrally joined. Contributors center on detailed case studies of 10 cities with a look at the development of regional patterns, an analysis of the impact regionalism has on urban politics, and an outline for an overall approach. The comprehensive and state-of-the-art expertise presented in this volume makes Regional Politics ideal for planners, policymakers, academics, researchers, and students in the areas of urban politics, state and local government, and public policy.

Bringing together the thoughts of outstanding contributors, Regional Politics presents a comparative study on the emerging regional nature of local and urban politics. Recent studies tend to focus on the politics and power of internal cities or on suburban areas that have gained incredible strength in the past decade. However, this important volume explores how politics work in the extended metropolis or "functional city"--which includes and surrounds the urban core and whose economy, society, and politics are integrally joined. Contributors center on detailed case studies of 10 cities with a look at the development of regional patterns, an analysis of the impact regionalism has on urban politics, and an outline for an overall approach. The comprehensive and state-of-the-art expertise presented in this volume makes Regional Politics ideal for planners, policymakers, academics, researchers, and students in the areas of urban politics, state and local government, and public policy.

Is local economic development a "zero-sum game"? How do we know that "but for the incentives" the development would not have occurred? How important is "quality of life" in location decisions and local economic development? Is industry targeting a viable economic development strategy? This book tackles these and many other significant questionsùfrom more than one perspective. Dilemmas of Urban Economic Development assesses the "state of the art" of the field of urban economic development. Each chapter addresses a particularly pertinent issue in economic development. Following each chapter are commentariesùone written by an academic addressing research methodology and the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. The chapters are concluded with the author of each chapter responding directly to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners, and citizens concerned with economic development.

Is local economic development a "zero-sum game"? How do we know that "but for the incentives" the development would not have occurred? How important is "quality of life" in location decisions and local economic development? Is industry targeting a viable economic development strategy? This book tackles these and many other significant questionsùfrom more than one perspective. Dilemmas of Urban Economic Development assesses the "state of the art" of the field of urban economic development. Each chapter addresses a particularly pertinent issue in economic development. Following each chapter are commentariesùone written by an academic addressing research methodology and the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. The chapters are concluded with the author of each chapter responding directly to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners, and citizens concerned with economic development.

Bringing together the thoughts of leading academics and practitioners, Affordable Housing and Urban Redevelopment in the United States explores the lessons that can be drawn from the U.S. experience in providing affordable housing. This unique volume reviews recent developments in the United States regarding the provision of low-cost housing--in particular, the changing role of the federal government, greater responsibility of state and local government, increasing joint venture projects, innovative finance mechanisms, and the operation of the nonprofit sector. Contributors explore success stories and then identify common themes while highlighting salient questions. The volume's conclusion weaves together the strands developed in the individual case studies, examines criteria that define success, and considers opportunities for developing more effective policies and programs. Contributors follow a common format that makes this important volume easy to read and unique for practitioners and academics in urban studies, political science, and urban planning. "America's housing crisis is getting worse, but most politicians, journalists, and business leaders pay little attention to housing policy or take cheap shots at existing housing programs. This book not only helps explain why housing policy is not high on the national agenda but also offers some hope for new directions. These original, thoughtful articles help explain the fix we're in and how to fix it. This book should be on the shelf of every housing activist, urban planner, and policy specialist."

As the global economy becomes ever more interconnected, what role will North American cities play? What challenges will North American cities encounter as they become more integrated in the world economy? The contributors to this groundbreaking volume examine these questions and offer a candid analysis of urban economics in a global age. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, contributors address such salient issues as the politics of international engagement, planning strategic linkages between cities, cross-border interaction and networking in North America, wage polarization, and urban competitiveness. Scholars and students in the fields of urban studies, economics, international studies, and urban planning will find this an invaluable resource. In addition, this volume will also serve a key resource for city practitioners.