The Metropolitan Chase: Politics and Policies in Urban America [Paperback]

E. Terrence Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0130166413 | ISBN-13: 978-0130166418 | Edition: 1

Unique in perspective, this handbook focuses on the core aspects of metropolitanism--giving readers what they need to be knowledgeable and effective metropolitan citizens. It provides cutting-edge insights into the nature and affects of two simultaneous contests--the competition among several hundred metropolitan regions and the competition with any single metropolitan area--and thus serves as an owner's manual for participating in both aspects of the metropolitan chase within the United States. Includes an Internet Guide to Metropolitan Regions, Governance, and Policies, and essential information on metropolitan areas with populations over one million. Distinguishing characteristics of the new Metropolitan Region; The key players (The Public Sector, The Business Sector, The Nonprofit Sector, The Civic Sphere); The External Chase (competition among metros--Economic Development; Transportation; Education; Arts, Entertainment, and Tourism); The Internal Chase (competition within metros--Protecting People and Property; Protecting Health and the Environment; Providing Housing; Providing Recreation, Parks, and Open Space; Taxes). For anyone interested in Urban Politics, Metropolitan Politics, Urban Planning, Urban Affairs, and Local Government.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Unique in perspective, this handbook focuses on the core aspects of metropolitanism--giving readers what they need to be knowledgeable and effective metropolitan citizens. It provides cutting-edge insights into the nature and affects of two simultaneous contests--the competition among several hundred metropolitan regions and the competition with any single metropolitan area--and thus serves as an owner's manual for participating in both aspects of the metropolitan chase within the United States. Includes an Internet Guide to Metropolitan Regions, Governance, and Policies, and essential information on metropolitan areas with populations over one million. Distinguishing characteristics of the new Metropolitan Region; The key players (The Public Sector, The Business Sector, The Nonprofit Sector, The Civic Sphere); The External Chase (competition among metros--Economic Development; Transportation; Education; Arts, Entertainment, and Tourism); The Internal Chase (competition within metros--Protecting People and Property; Protecting Health and the Environment; Providing Housing; Providing Recreation, Parks, and Open Space; Taxes). For anyone interested in Urban Politics, Metropolitan Politics, Urban Planning, Urban Affairs, and Local Government.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

During the past century, metropolitan regions have become the central place for human activity. Although economic factors have had the most to do with creating and expanding them, metropolises must also govern themselves. Politics—who gets what, when, where, and how—now operates among metropolitan areas as well as within them. Metropolitan citizens are simultaneously engaged in two contests. The first is competing with other regions for the highest quality of life. The second is striving within each region for who prospers most. These two contests overlap and interact to form the metropolitan chase.

Understanding and explaining political processes and policy issues within metropolitan regions is daunting. First, it is a work in progress. More than other levels of society, most notably the nation-state, metropolitan areas have only been seriously grappling with regional decisions for the past few decades. They are making it up as they go along. Second, it is confusing. Since there is no single overarching government for any metropolitan area, making decisions involves hundreds of players spread across all three sectors: public, business, and nonprofit. That is why the process is typically labeled "governance" rather than "government," signaling that much of the action extends outside the formal public setting in what is becoming a virtual realm, a civic sphere. Fortunately, the past decade has produced substantial research about the new regionalism. Some has come from the traditional sources: university scholars and independent think tanks. Some has been produced by other institutions within metropolitan regions as they struggle to change. Examples include citizens leagues, metropolitan planning organizations, and ad hoc cross-sectoral task forces. Journalists and other public intellectuals have added to the mix, examining recent developments and speculating about alternative arrangements.

Using a metropolitan perspective and a competitive metaphor, The Metropolitan Chase synthesizes this material for the regions within the United States. It provides a scorecard outlining the players within each sector (Chapters 2 through 5) and then analyzes how they interact within several policy arenas (Chapters 6 through 14): economic development, transportation, education, arts/entertainment/tourism, public safety, health, environment, housing, parks and recreation, and taxation. It closes with a discussion of the four overriding issues confronting every region: how to compete economically, how to manage growth, how to counter inequity, and how to govern.

The recommended readings at the end of each chapter are a guide for further exploration. The exercises, labeled "doing it," give students an opportunity' to explore how all this plays out in their region. The appendices provide a guide for finding further information from the Internet. Precisely because actions on and knowledge about metropolitan areas is expanding so rapidly, printed statistical data are frequently dated well before they are printed. To stay fresh, to have the latest, one must head for the World Wide Web.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 372 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (November 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130166413
• ISBN-13: 978-0130166418
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,715,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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