Synopses & Reviews
One of the key issues of our time is the question of where power and governance should lie. Should they be centrally controlled, drawing on efficiencies of scale and gathered knowledge? Or should they be more locally distributed, so that they more closely represent the actual needs of people and communities? In Taking Power Back, Simon Parker makes a powerful case for the latter: centralization, he argues, has been largely a failure, breeding distrust among citizens—who, he shows, are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Offering policy recommendations and practical suggestions, Parker argues for a new kind of politics, one that can fully unleash society’s creative potential.
Review
“At a time of increased talk about the need for decentralization, Parker offers substantive examples from the United Kingdom and elsewhere about how to achieve a lasting shift of power to cities, towns, and local neighbourhoods. It is an ambitious but persuasive program.”
Review
“A timely and comprehensive case for devolution, helping to put the case for change in a way that is meaningful to people’s daily lives. All in government—central and local—should read this book and act on it.”
Review
“Parker makes a compelling case that the British experiment with centralism has failed. Using examples from across the globe, this provocative book shows how a happier, healthier, and more equal society can be built from the bottom up. Politicians need to learn to share power: here they will find a roadmap.”
Synopsis
Across the US, cities and metropolitan areas are facing huge economic and competitive challenges that Washington won't, or can't, solve. The good news is that networks of metropolitan leaders - mayors, business and labor leaders, educators, and philanthropists - are stepping up and powering the nation forward. These state and local leaders are doing the hard work to grow more jobs and make their communities more prosperous, and they're investing in infrastructure, making manufacturing a priority, and equipping workers with the skills they need.
In The Metropolitan Revolution, Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley highlight success stories and the people behind them.
- New York City: Efforts are under way to diversify the city's vast economy
- Portland: Is selling the sustainability solutions it has perfected to other cities around the world
- Northeast Ohio: Groups are using industrial-age skills to invent new twenty-first-century materials, tools, and processes
- Houston: Modern settlement house helps immigrants climb the employment ladder
- Miami: Innovators are forging strong ties with Brazil and other nations
- Denver and Los Angeles: Leaders are breaking political barriers and building world-class metropolises
- Boston and Detroit: Innovation districts are hatching ideas to power these economies for the next century
The lessons in this book can help other cities meet their challenges. Change is happening, and every community in the country can benefit. Change happens where we live, and if leaders won't do it, citizens should demand it.
The Metropolitan Revolution was the 2013 Foreword Reviews Bronze winner for Political Science.
About the Author
Simon Parker is director of the local government think tank the New Local Government Network.
Table of Contents
The revolution will not be centralised: why politics needs to change
Learning to love the postcode lottery: why hoarding power usually fails
Giving up is hard to do: why it’s hard to share power
The localist renaissance: how England’s cities fought back
From consumers to creators: reinventing citizenship
The colonisation of Britain: how the empire came home
Giving up is hard to do: why politicians struggle to share power
Hack the state: how we can take power back