Metropolitan government and metropolitan governance have been ongoing issues for more than sixty years in the United States. Based on an extensive survey and a review of existing literature, this book offers a comprehensive overview of these debates. It discusses how the centrifugal forces in local government, and in particular local government autonomy, have produced a highly fragmented governmental landscape throughout America. It argues that in order for 'governance' to occur in metropolitan areas (or anywhere else, for that matter), there has to be some form of an actual governmental institution that possesses the power and ability to compel compliance. Everything else is just some form of cooperation, and while cooperation is not trivial, it does not enable metropolitan areas to address the really tough and controversial issues that divide rather than unite governments in those areas. The book examines the principal factors that prevent the development of either metropolitan government or metropolitan governance in the USA. Norris looks at several examples where some form of metropolitan government or governance can be said to exist, from voluntary cooperation (the weakest) to government (the strongest). He also examines each type of arrangement for its ability to address metropolitan-wide problems and whether each type is or is not in use in the USA. In sum, the book uncovers the extent of metropolitan government and governance, the possibility for its existence, what attempts (if any) have been made in the past, and the problems and issues that have arisen due to the lack of adequate metropolitan governance.

Metropolitan government and metropolitan governance have been ongoing issues for more than sixty years in the United States. Based on an extensive survey and a review of existing literature, this book offers a comprehensive overview of these debates. It discusses how the centrifugal forces in local government, and in particular local government autonomy, have produced a highly fragmented governmental landscape throughout America. It argues that in order for 'governance' to occur in metropolitan areas (or anywhere else, for that matter), there has to be some form of an actual governmental institution that possesses the power and ability to compel compliance. Everything else is just some form of cooperation, and while cooperation is not trivial, it does not enable metropolitan areas to address the really tough and controversial issues that divide rather than unite governments in those areas. The book examines the principal factors that prevent the development of either metropolitan government or metropolitan governance in the USA. Norris looks at several examples where some form of metropolitan government or governance can be said to exist, from voluntary cooperation (the weakest) to government (the strongest). He also examines each type of arrangement for its ability to address metropolitan-wide problems and whether each type is or is not in use in the USA. In sum, the book uncovers the extent of metropolitan government and governance, the possibility for its existence, what attempts (if any) have been made in the past, and the problems and issues that have arisen due to the lack of adequate metropolitan governance.

By examining reform efforts in California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. . . the editors provide timely illustrations of the factors leading to reform, the manner by which reform was achieved, and an assessment of whether reform would ultimately remedy flaws in the system. --J. L. Kaniss in Choice Welfare reform has been on the public agenda in the United States for 2 1/2 decades. By 1992, major initiatives were underway in several states. The Politics of Welfare Reform examines welfare reform in six states that represents the most substantial changes in public assistance in several decades: California, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The case studies focus on the factors that motivated welfare reform, the political process that led to the adoption of the reforms, the objectives sought by the reforms, and an assessment of the likelihood that the reforms would achieve their objective. Introductory and concluding essays knit together national trends in welfare reform and summarize results of recent evaluations of various reform proposals. The Politics of Welfare Reform is the perfect volume for students and scholars in policy studies, public administration, political science, and public health. "Norris and Thompson attempt to determine how the current debate over welfare reform has developed and spread within and throughout the federal system. By examining reform efforts in California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin--governments whose innovative leadership in the area of welfare and its reform is well documented--the editors provide timely illustrations of the factors leading to reform, the manner by which reform was achieved, and an assessment of whether reform would ultimately remedy flaws in the system. While the text concedes that welfare reform is primarily about politics, not poverty or welfare, the editors conclude by proposing ways in which the politics of welfare reform could itself be improved." --Choice