Written in a non-technical, narrative style, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with current trends in urban development. During the Reagan era, responsibility for urban planning and development was transferred from government to private business. This private sector hegemony over urban development differs markedly from the liberal policy initiatives of the 1960s and 1970s. Through a series of case studies, this book examines these shifting trends and shows that private sector efforts to revitalize America's central cities have not been uniformly successful. The contributors, who are among America's leading social scientists, utilize neo-Marxist urban theory to explain the conditions under which private initiative enhances or erodes downtown redevelopment.

Written in a non-technical, narrative style, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with current trends in urban development. During the Reagan era, responsibility for urban planning and development was transferred from government to private business. This private sector hegemony over urban development differs markedly from the liberal policy initiatives of the 1960s and 1970s. Through a series of case studies, this book examines these shifting trends and shows that private sector efforts to revitalize America’s central cities have not been uniformly successful. The contributors, who are among America’s leading social scientists, utilize neo-Marxist urban theory to explain the conditions under which private initiative enhances or erodes downtown redevelopment.

Elites have a disproportionate impact on development outcomes. While a country's endowments constitute the deep determinates of growth, the trajectory they follow is shaped by the actions of elites. But what factors affect whether elites use their influence for individual gain or national welfare? To what extent do they see poverty as a problem? And are their actions today constrained by institutions and norms established in the past? This volume looks at case studies from South Africa to China to seek a better understanding of the dynamics behind how elites decide to engage with economic development. Approaches include economic modelling, social surveys, theoretical analysis, and program evaluation. These different methods explore the relationship between elites and development outcomes from five angles: the participation and reaction of elites to institutional creation and change, how economic changes affect elite formation and circulation, elite perceptions of national welfare, the extent to which state capacity is part of elite self-identity, and how elites interact with non-elites.

In an unusually systematic approach to the study of urban politics, this study compares three different models of political power to see which can best explain the development of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System in San Francisco and the attempts of Los Angeles to build a comparable system. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In 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.

'Cities in the International Marketplace' looks at the political responses of ten cities in North America and Western Europe as they grappled with the forces of global restructuring during the past 30 years.