The economic and political transformations in America’s great cities that began in the 1990’s can be viewed from many different perspectives. But there is a general consensus that these changes have been nothing short of extraordinary! While there is no question that the benefits of urban development and regeneration have not been equally distributed across all income, racial and ethnic groups, responsible individuals would be hard pressed to argue for a return to that period of middle class flight to the suburbs and economic disinvestment in the central cities.
So where has urban political theory been while all of these great changes have been taking place? Could any of the dominant disciplinary theories have predicted the current state of urban America? Could any of the theories even explain what is now going on economically and politically in cities across the United States let along among global cities? The answer is no.
Whether it is pluralism, the power elite, regime theory, relative deprivation, social capital, city limits, city trenches, city as sandbox or city as growth machine -- None of these theories can explain the current economic and political state of urban America or more importantly the challenges cities face in continuing the positive economic developments of the past 15 years.
My research suggests that there are two problems with these theories:
* a bias against economic growth and business investment
* a general lack of interest in if not disdain for governance issues: formal legal arrangements, federalism and the general politics of policy
Ester Fuchs will argue that the viability of cities in the 21st century depends on their ability to compete in the global economy and that in turn depends on effective governance. New York City will provide the case material for this discussion.
Vidéo de la conférence :
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Modérateur : Vincent Renard
