City governments are going bankrupt. Even the ones that aren't are often stuck in financial chaos. It is easy to blame pensions, poor leadership, or a bad economy. But the problems go much deeper. With decades of experience in local government, author Mark Moses showcases the inside world of the city decision-making process that has spawned these crises. It becomes clear: City governments are maxing out their budgets because they are trying to

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Despite decades of talk about globalization, democracy still depends on local self-government. In Local Self-Government and the Right to the City, Warren Magnusson argues that it is the principle behind claims to personal autonomy, community control, and national self-determination, and holds the promise of more peaceful politics. Unfortunately, state-centred thinking has obscured understanding of what local self-government can mean and hindered efforts...

This award-winning book “skillfully blends economic and political analysis” to assess the challenges of urban governments (Emmett H. Buell, Jr., American Political Science Review).
 
Winner of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book published in the United States on government, politics, or international affairs
 
Many simply presume that a city’s politics are like...

"A new framework for experimental and innovative "city-making" for urban resources and services to be developed and governed in a collaborative, socially, and economically inclusive ways"--

Most American cities are now administered by appointed city managers and governed by councils chosen in nonpartisan, at-large elections. In the early twentieth century, many urban reformers claimed these structures would make city government more responsive to the popular will. But on the whole, the effects of these reforms have been to make citizens less likely to vote in local elections and local governments less representative of their constituents.

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"Uses Philadelphia as a case study to argue that political reform is a constant though not always dominant theme in city politics, maintained through various interconnected social and professional networks"--

"The United States is known as a country that has been highly antagonistic to socialism of any form. Socialists have tended to be outsiders to the political system, mounting criticisms of the government without serving in elected office themselves. Despite this well-deserved reputation, there was a period of time in the United States in which Socialist politicians were prominent and active at the municipal level, holding office as government insiders....

"New York native Gia Morelli is just getting used to life in Florida when she gets word that the town government wants to shut down her pride and joy: the charming little diner known as the All-Day Breakfast Cafe. A forgotten zoning regulation means that the cafe was opened illegally, and hardboiled council president Marcia Steers refuses to budge. Gia is considering hanging up her apron and going back to New York, but before she gives up on her dream,...