Week 10 - Urban Politics Flashcards
What are Political Machines?
They are autonomous organisations that are sustained by a politics of material exchange (what we can get from the Government) and a self - regarding ethos who were able to use electoral policies so effectively that their re - election became detached from broad responsiveness to Constituents.
The term machine is used to analyse the transactional process of who gets what - and in a City, the most common boss of a machine is the Mayor and they have historically been the ‘gatekeepers’ as they have the power to place people in municipal jobs.
Machines ensure that jobs are given based on the loyalty to the machine - they are the only ones who can give jobs and therefore, it is their way or no way.
What are Progressive Reformers?
Their aim is to abolish the office of the Mayor as it was too powerful and instead elect lower level figures with less power. At large - elections, this refers to councillors that should be elected from a City, but they are non - partisan elections and therefore they are not allowed to stand for the City office as partisan allegiance i.e. cannot stand as a Republican or Democrat
What is a critique of Progressive Reformers?
They are white and rich - they were a wealthier segment of the society and did not get any benefits from the Machine. Therefore, they wanted to abolish it because it brought nothing to them - whilst others were benefiting from it
What is Political Pluralism?
Focuses on pluralist theory of governance. Here, many groups vie for influence and each can make some demands and win some concessions. This is translated as a ‘polyarchy’ and situates decision - making authority within the local community and empowers decentralisation
How can cities exercise a degree of autonomous power?
A lot of states and cities have refused to assist the Federal Government in their efforts of deporting immigrants. They cannot physically stop the Federal Government, but can say that “we believe in the importance of local police, and therefore only if someone has committed a crime, they will not be asked for identification policies
How can the Federal Governments evade state autonomy?
The Federal Government has more money that State Governments and therefore they can respond to this policy implementation with fiscal and physical enforcement
What does the phrase ‘City Politics is limited Politics’ refer to?
Refers to the idea that in theory, Cities have a lot of power, but when this is translated to practical power, they do not have much power
In what ways is City Politics limited?
- Lack the structural advantages of a Country i.e. they have no control over borders as well as no control over monetary policy
- Dependent on higher levels of Government in the form of fiscal dependence and economic dependence
- Challenges which stretch beyond the City Boundaries such as the environment and gun control
How does Property Tax alter the composition of Cities?
It is a major source of income for municipal governments in the United States; and cities that have high value properties are going to get more income from this. Therefore, in order to redistribute, Cities need high value properties to tax. Furthermore, because cities cannot prevent personal and capital mobility across jurisdictional lines, it struggles in forcing the wealthy to stay and therefore policies start to focus on attracting the wealthy. But this has to be done using regressive measures such as tax breaks.
Outline the New Deal
It was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by Roosevelt that aimed to restore economic prosperity. They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly.
It also included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re - inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply
Outline the New Deal Coalition
It was a group of voting blocs and interest groups that supported Roosevelt’s New Deal and voted for Democrat Presidential candidates from 1932 through until the 1960s. It encompassed members from all sections of society including unions, blue collar workers, industry, minorities, intellectuals and became known as a realignment of US politics, thus allowing Democrats to become the majority party
Why did African Americans move from rural South to Northern and Western Cities
To flee Jim Crow laws and other processes such as lynching; as well as looking for manufacturing and other jobs
What were some methods of ‘maintaining white power’ during historical immigration movements?
Zoning ordinances, land use rules, selective placements of public housing and concentrating negative externalities in predominantly black areas i.e. locating rubbish tips and toxic waste disposal centre
s in black neighbourhoods, thus lowering house prices
What was white flight a response to?
Increasing diversity from the Second Great Migration where minorities became racial majorities
What did easier transport result in?
Through legislation such as Highways Act of 1944 and 1956, it was made easier for white communities to live outside of the City and travel into work. This was reflected in the statistic that between 1950 and 1990, there was a 17% decline in US City populations and a 72% increasing in surrounding suburban populations.
Accurately define ‘White Flight’
It is not a replacement of white people with black communities, but instead is the departure of the white population and accompanies the process of a ‘shrinking city’.
Compare Cherry Hill and Camden in New Jersey
Cherry Hill
- Population: 77,344 (5% white, 48% black, 47% Hispanic)
- Library closed in 2011
- Waterfront contaminated; emits gamma radiation
and radioactive materials identified in local properties
- Median household income: $18,000 [£13.5k]
- 1 in 2 children don’t graduate from high school
and only 2% of students get 65% or higher on the SAT (compared to 50% of students nationally)
- Poverty rate: 52%
- Crime rate: 19.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents
(NJ average: 2.3)
Camden
- Population: 71,000
- 78% white, 6% black, 6% Hispanic
- One of the largest public libraries in New Jersey (400,000 books, 72,000 square feet)
- 51 parks, 19 public (state) schools
- National Blue Ribbon winners, ‘Star Schools’ of New Jersey
- Poverty rate: 4%
- Median household income: $105,800 [£81k]
- Crime rate: 1.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents
Why are racially diverse areas more commonly associated with poor public services?
Because residents display a willingness to pay a premium to live in areas which are not racially diverse - do not want to contribute to the wellbeing of other ‘minorities’. If it is a majority white place and under white political control, white communities will be more willing to pay more taxes, thus improving the amenities
- only pay if the credit is going to their racial group
What is Hyperlocalism?
This is a term regarding the orientation and focus around a well - defined community with a primary focus directed toward the concerns of the population in that community
Outline Municipal Annexation
This is a process by which a municipality expands its boundaries into adjacent areas not already incorporated; as a result, cities incorporate the suburbs into the City Boundaries. This can be done to engulf the ‘white flight’ and keep it within the Cities.
Outline City Secession
It is a City’s secession from its surrounding region, to form a new political unit with a new autonomy. It consolidates the status as an independent unit and is a way of maintaining the segregation without needing people to move
How has segregation changed regarding Cities?
Cities as a whole have become less racially and economically diverse over time and this is because a greater share of total segregation in metropolitan areas is now accounted for across cities, rather than within them
What are classified as public goods and services
Schools, recreational facilities, refuse disposal, police and law enforcement, community health facilities, municipal jobs, libraries, hygiene inspection, building codes, road maintenance and other infrastructure
What are the two main factors that will determine where someone will live?
- The type and quality of public goods and services
- The taxes that are required to support those goods and services
