Understanding Urban Politics

Timothy B. Krebs is professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, where he joined the faculty in 2002 after four years at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His teaching includes undergraduate and graduate course in American politics, urban politics, urban management, state and urban policy, and campaigns and elections. Krebs received his B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and earned his Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago in 1997. His publications have appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, American Politics Research, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review and other outlets.Arnold Fleischmann is professor of political science at Eastern Michigan University, where he served as department head from 2009 to 2016; prior to that, he taught at the University of Georgia for 26 years. He teaches American Government, State and Local Government, Urban Politics, and State Politics. He is coauthor of The Politics in Georgia, published by the University of Georgia Press, which is now in its third edition.

• PrefaceAbout the AuthorsPart 1: Laying the GroundworkChapter 1: Studying Urban PoliticsFirst Things First: What is ‘Urban,’ Anyway?What’s Different about Local Government and Politics?Types of U.S. Local Governments and What They DoThe World of Local GovernmentsChapter 2: The Development of Urban America through World War IIHistory as a Lens for Understanding Urban PoliticsPre-industrial CitiesUrban Development from the 1870s to World War IThe 1920s through World War IIChapter 3: Urban Development after World War IISuburbanization and Minority Concentration in Central CitiesPostwar Urban Development and PoliticsNew Urban Regions and Groups in the Late 20th CenturyUrban Development in the 21st CenturyPart 2: Local InstitutionsChapter 4: Dealing with Other Governments at the National, State, and Local LevelsLocal Governments in the American Federal SystemState Limits on Local GovernmentsFederal Efforts to Influence Local GovernmentsDealing with Other GovernmentsChapter 5: Local LegislaturesInstitutional Context of Local LegislaturesThe Functions of City CouncilsRepresenting ConstituentsChapter 6: Mayors and ExecutivesThe Context of Mayoral LeadershipMayoral Leadership: Formal and Informal Sources of PowersCity Managers and AdministratorsThe Urban BureaucracyLocal Constitutional OfficersPart 3: Participation and Representation in Local PoliticsChapter 7: Elections and VotingUrban Electoral ProcessVoter Turnout in Urban ElectionsVoter Choice in Urban ElectionsChapter 8: Candidates and CampaignsFrom Group-Based to Candidate-Centered ElectionsInstitutional Context of Urban Candidates and CampaignsUrban CampaignsChapter 9: Non-Voting Forms of ParticipationNon-Voting Forms of Participation in Urban PoliticsCitizen ContactingPolitical Parties and Urban Interest GroupsPolitical CampaigningProtests and RebellionsVoting with Your FeetPart 4: Local Government PoliciesChapter 10: Local Government Policy Making and ServicesThe Policy ProcessTypes of PoliciesProviding Local ServicesAlternative Service MethodsChapter 11: Local Government FinancesLocal Government SpendingLocal Government Revenue SourcesLocal Government BudgetingChapter 12: Building the City: Economic Development, Land Use, & Housing PoliciesEconomic Development PoliciesLand UseHousingCritical Issues in the Shaping of Urban AmericaChapter 13: Policies to Promote Quality of LifePublic SafetyEnvironmental PoliciesUrban AmenitiesMorality Politics: Battling over Community ValuesGlossaryIndex

At last! A pitch-perfect urban politics text for undergraduates. It neither cannibalizes articles or books, nor reads like an extended literature review. I look forward to teaching with it.