American Metropolitics: The New Suburban Reality [Paperback]

Myron Orfield (Author), Bruce Katz (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0815702493 | ISBN-13: 978-0815702498 | Publication Date: March 2002

In 1998, Myron Orfield introduced a revolutionary program for combating the seemingly inevitable decline of America's metropolitan communities. Through a combination of demographic research, state-of-the-art mapping, and resourceful, pragmatic politics, his groundbreaking book, Metropolitics, revealed how the different regions of St. Paul and Minneapolis pulled together to create a regional government powerful enough to tackle the community's problems of sprawl and urban decay.Orfield's new work, "American Metropolitics," applies the next generation of cutting-edge research on a much broader scale. The book provides an eye-opening analysis of the economic, racial, environmental, and political trends of the 25 largest metropolitan regions in the United States --which contain more than 45 percent of the U.S. population. Using detailed maps and case studies, Orfield demonstrates that growing social separation and wasteful sprawling development patterns are harming regional citizens wherever they live. The first section of the book, "Metropatterns," illustrates a common pattern of growing social separation and wasteful sprawling development throughout the country --a condition that limits opportunity for the poor (particularly people of color), diminishes the quality of life for most Americans, and threatens our fragile environment. It also shows how these patterns reveal the existence of three types of suburban communities --those at risk of social and economic decline, those struggling to pay for rapid growth, and a very small number of places that enjoy the benefits of economic growth with few social costs. Ironically, this last group is often the center of the movement against sprawl. "Metropolicy," the second section, analyzes past policies and programs that have attempted --and failed --to address the challenges of concentrated poverty, sprawl, and inequitable distribution of resources. Orfield lays out a comprehensive regional agenda to address these problems, with solutions for land use planning from a regional perspective, greater fiscal equity among local governments (with an emphasis on reinvestment in the central cities and older suburbs), and improved governance at the regional level that will help facilitate the development of policies to benefit all types of metropolitan communities. The third section, "Metropolitics," discusses examples of political strategies that have led to successful programs on land use planning, tax equity, and regional governance. Using detailed analysis of 1990's election data it identifies and maps the nation's swing political jurisdictions which are overwhelmingly in at-risk and growth-stressed suburbs. Finally, the book draws a new and incisive picture of the political structure of U.S. metropolitan regions, and lays out a series of strategies for moving regional reform efforts forward. With detailed maps of conditions in each metropolitan region, comprehensive data on existing conditions and voter attitudes, and bold, innovative strategies for change, Am "erican Metropolitics i"s an important book for anyone concerned with the future of our cities and suburbs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you agree with his policy prescriptions or not, Orfield has found a way to illuminate the most critical —and, often, most baffling —battlefield in American politics." —David S. Broder, The Washington Post, 5/1/2002

"(interview)" —Art Golab, Chicago-Sun-Times, 5/27/2002

"Orfield lays out a comprehensive regional agenda which challenges civic leaders to step beyond parochial solutions and to act regionally to pursue fundamental reforms." — Smart Growth Network Newsletter, 5:3, 2002

About the Author

Myron Orfield is Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Research Corporation, a Minnesota State Senator, and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815702493
• ISBN-13: 978-0815702498
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars brilliant in spots, July 30, 2002

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Metropolitics: The New Suburban Reality (Paperback)

The first half of this book (where Orfield talks about the various categories of suburbs and how they are adversely affected by sprawl) is brilliant. Orfield explains that not just core cities are hurt by sprawl. Older and more racially diverse suburbs are hurt because they lose their most affluent residents to newer suburbs, thus causing them to go into the same death spiral of decline and decay as the core cities nearby. Newer "bedroom community" suburbs are hurt because they get hit with all the infastructure demands caused by population growth (e.g. roads, sewers) but don't have enough commerce to finance these improvements. Orfield adds that although some "edge city" suburbs (i.e. those with a lot of commerce) appear to be big winners from sprawl, those suburbs (a) are only a tiny minority of American suburbs and (b) suffer from traffic congestion because all those jobs mean drivers clogging their roads and making life miserable for these suburbs' permanent residents. And Orfield doesn't just spin out theories -- he publishes numerous maps showing the decline not just of older suburbs, but even of some newer ones.

The second half of the book (which focuses on solutions) is worthy but far less interesting -- the sort of material that is probably tremendously helpful if you want an introduction to possible reforms, but which is less interesting if you are already familiar with these issues.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soccer Mom's & Coffee Houses, May 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: American Metropolitics: The New Suburban Reality (Paperback)

Myron Orfield has done it again. He has taken a very complex issue like urban sprawl and the social separation it causes and has put a fourth leg on the stool - Politics! He rightly explains that those who feel powerless in the development circus occurring all around them in communities throughout America can have a powerful voice for change. All we have to do is cooperate and communicate with one another on a regional level. Sounds Pollyannish, but Orfield has seen these changes in his career as a state legislator in Minnesota. If the Soccer Mom's start talking to the Bohemians in the coffee houses, they will see that neither of them are totally happy with their quality of life. The votes of these folks, if combined around issues of mutual interest (open space, farmland protection, urban reinvestment, less traffic congstion) could easily sway elections from state legislatures to the White House. This is an important book for anyone who cares about the future of America's cities and suburbs