Synopses & Reviews
City politics is an ancient, enduring, and vibrant enterprise. Its study is equally ancient, enduring and vibrant. The field itself can be traced back over two millennia, from the studies of the Greek polis onward through to the industrial and postindustrial eras. Its key concerns - reflected in the organization of this collection - include the nature of power, institutions, governance, community, scale, cross-national comparison, economic processes, as well as the urban citizenry itself and its uniquely urban problems and the public policy efforts to address such problems. The study of these concerns is inherently interdisciplinary, as local political processes are largely shaped by social forces, spatial dynamics, ethnic ethos, and economic factors.
Volume 1: Traditions and Transitions examines different ways in which the politics of city life have been conceived down the ages, including appropriate works from ancient Greek thought ton contemporary writers. Volume 2: Political Economy and Power brings together theoretical work developed to explain urban politics, focusing on the key interactions between economic and political processes and the distribution and nature of political power. Volume 3: Institutions and Governance focuses on the formal and informal institutions of urban government and the task of urban governance. Volume 4: Publics and Policies covers a range of topics in urban politics related to its various publics and related problems and policies. Specific topics include: class, race, gender, social capital, community organizing and mobilization, with a consideration of how these issues are mediated in specific policy arenas such as anti-poverty, housing, crime, planning and development, education, etc.
Synopsis
City politics is an ancient, enduring, and vibrant enterprise that can be traced back over two millennia. Its key concerns - reflected in the organization of this collection - include the nature of power, institutions, governance, community, scale, cross-national comparison, economic processes, as well as the urban citizenry itself and its uniquely urban problems and the public policy efforts to address such problems. The study of these concerns is inherently interdisciplinary, as local political processes are largely shaped by social forces, spatial dynamics, ethnic ethos, and economic factors.