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The Politics of Urban Development

Edited by Clarence N. Stone and Heywood T. Sanders

viii, 312 pages, 6 x 9
Studies in Government and Public Policy
Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0333-6, $14.95

Book Cover ImageIn the past twenty years the study of urban politics has shifted from a predominant concern with political culture and ethos to a preoccupation with political economy, particularly that of urban development. Urban scholars have come to recognize that cities are shaped by forces beyond their boundaries. From that focus have emerged the views that cities are clearly engaged in economic competition; that market processes are shaped by national policy decisions, sometimes intentionally and sometimes inadvertently; and that the costs and benefits of economic growth are unevenly distributed. But what else needs to be said about the policies and politics of urban development?

To supplement prevailing theories, The Politics of Urban Development argues that the role of local actors in making development decisions merits closer study. Whatever the structural constraints, politics still matters. Collectively the essays provide ample evidence that local government officials and other community actors do not simply follow the imperatives that derive from the national political economy; they are able to assert a significant degree of influence over the shared destiny of an urban population. The impact of the collection is to heighten awareness of local political practices and of how and why they make a difference.

"A stunning collection of articles by leading urban scholars. It is brilliantly conceived and executed, reading more like a single-author book than a group of essays."--Dennis Judd, author of The Politics of American Cities

"These essays present a coherent and compelling argument--one that should help restore politics to the study of the urban development process;"--Martin Shefter, author of Political Crisis/Fiscal Crisis: The Collapse and Revival of New York City

CLARENCE STONE is a professor in the department of government and politics at the University of Maryland, where he also directs the Urban Education Project. Recipient of the Ralph J. Bunche Award and the APSA's Career Achievement Award, he is the coauthor of Building Civic Capacity: The Politics of Reforming Urban Schools, editor of Changing Urban Education, and author of Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988.

HEYWOOD T. SANDERS, professor in the Department of Urban Studies at Trinity University, is author of a Twentieth Century Fund book on the politics of urban infrastructure.

CONTRIBUTORS: Sophie N. Body-Gendrot, Susan E. Clarke, Jameson W. Doig, Stephen L. Elkin, Peter A. Lupsha, Robert F. Pecorella, Adolph Reed, Jr., Heywood T. Sanders, Robert P. Stoker, Clarence N. Stone, Robert K. Whelan, J. Allen Whitt