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Originally published in 1972, this study aims to explore
governmental interaction with people and publics interests and
institutions in Metropolitan America. These papers discuss issues
of how governance can be improved and the federal role in
Metropolitanism as well as suggesting ways in which political
reform can help. This title will be of interest to students of
Environmental Economics and professionals.
Originally published in 1972, this study aims to explore
governmental interaction with people and publics interests and
institutions in Metropolitan America. These papers discuss issues
of how governance can be improved and the federal role in
Metropolitanism as well as suggesting ways in which political
reform can help. This title will be of interest to students of
Environmental Economics and professionals.
The early 21st century has not been kind to California's reputation
for good government. But the Golden State's governance flaws
reflect worrisome national trends with origins in the 1970s and
1980s. Growing voter distrust with government, a demand for
services but not taxes to pay for them, a sharp decline in
enlightened leadership and effective civic watchdogs, and
dysfunctional political institutions have all contributed to the
current governance malaise.
Until recently, San Diego, California--America's 8th largest
city--seemed immune to such systematic governance disorders. This
sunny beach town entered the 1990s proclaiming to be "America's
Finest City," but in a few short years its reputation went from
"Futureville" to "Enron-by-the-Sea." In this eye-opening and
telling narrative, Steven P. Erie, Vladimir Kogan, and Scott A.
MacKenzie mix policy analysis, political theory, and history to
explore and explain the unintended but largely predictable failures
of governance in San Diego.
Using untapped primary sources--interviews with key decision makers
and public documents--and benchmarking San Diego with other leading
California cities, "Paradise Plundered" examines critical
dimensions of San Diego's governance failure: a multi-billion
dollar pension deficit; a chronic budget deficit; inadequate city
services and infrastructure; grandiose planning initiatives
divorced from dire fiscal realities; an insulated downtown
redevelopment program plagued by poorly-crafted public-private
partnerships; and, for the metropolitan region, inadequate airport
and port facilities, a severe underinvestment in firefighting
capacity despite destructive wildfires, and heightened Mexican
border security concerns.
Far from a sunny story of paradise and prosperity, this account
takes stock of an important but understudied city, its failed civic
leadership, and poorly performing institutions, policymaking, and
planning. Though the extent of these failures may place San Diego
in a league of its own, other cities are experiencing similar
challenges and political changes. As such, this tale of civic woe
offers valuable lessons for urban scholars, practitioners, and
general readers concerned about the future of their own cities.
As urban growth outstrips water supplies, how can the global
challenge of providing "liquid gold" be met? Mixing history and
policy analysis, Steven Erie tells the compelling story of the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)-one of the
world's largest and most important public water agencies-and its
role in building the world's 8th largest economy in a semi-desert.
No tawdry tale of secret backroom conspiracies-as depicted in the
famed film noir Chinatown-this fresh telling concerns an unheralded
regional institution, its entrepreneurial public leadership, and
pioneering policymaking. Using untapped primary sources, the author
re-examines this great regional experiment from its obscure
1920s-era origins, through the Colorado River Aqueduct and State
Water Projects, to today's daunting mission of drought management,
water quality, environmental stewardship, and post-9/11 supply
security. A key focus is MWD's navigation of recent epic water
battles: San Diego's combative quest for water independence from
MWD and L.A.; lingering conflicts over the Colorado River and
northern California's fragile Bay-Delta ecosystem; and the myriad
challenges posed by water markets, privatization, and water
transfers. Facing unprecedented challenges, MWD is devising
innovative formulas to sustain this improbable desert civilization.
Beyond Chinatown concludes by considering MWD's Integrated
Resources Plan as a global model for water-resources planning and
management, water supply diversification and reliability,
affordability, and environmental sustainability. Chinatown's
seductive mythologies have obscured MWD's authentic, instructive
history and lessons. Praise for Steve Erie's previous book,
Globalizing L.A.: "This book is a must-read for anyone interested
in the politics of Western cities, the politics of urban
development, and especially the future politics of cities that are
likely to be contenders in the increasingly competitive arena of
global trade. . . . Erie's analysis will forever direct us to look
first at certain public agencies to begin to understand larger
patterns of economic growth in any metropolitan area."-Journal of
Urban Affairs "[A] fascinating history of the Los Angeles region's
great assets and the forces that drove their development. . . . One
hundred years ago, it was improbable that the Los Angeles region
would become the 10th largest economy in the world. In Globalizing
L.A., Erie explains how that happened and then, fingers crossed,
offers lessons on how California's largest and most diverse city
and region can keep playing a leading role."-Los Angeles Times
"Referencing an impressive body of recent academic research, Erie
argues that world-class seaport and airport facilities confer
substantial economic advantages and more facilitating links between
local businesses and the global economy."-The Sacramento Bee "Erie
has built a potent political-economy of urban development that
recognizes the crucial role of the public sector in mediating
globalizing processes . . . and this is a valuable lesson for
academics, dockworkers, community developers, and environmental
activists alike."-Economic Geography
The early 21st century has not been kind to California's reputation
for good government. But the Golden State's governance flaws
reflect worrisome national trends with origins in the 1970s and
1980s. Growing voter distrust with government, a demand for
services but not taxes to pay for them, a sharp decline in
enlightened leadership and effective civic watchdogs, and
dysfunctional political institutions have all contributed to the
current governance malaise.
Until recently, San Diego, California--America's 8th largest
city--seemed immune to such systematic governance disorders. This
sunny beach town entered the 1990s proclaiming to be "America's
Finest City," but in a few short years its reputation went from
"Futureville" to "Enron-by-the-Sea." In this eye-opening and
telling narrative, Steven P. Erie, Vladimir Kogan, and Scott A.
MacKenzie mix policy analysis, political theory, and history to
explore and explain the unintended but largely predictable failures
of governance in San Diego.
Using untapped primary sources--interviews with key decision makers
and public documents--and benchmarking San Diego with other leading
California cities, "Paradise Plundered" examines critical
dimensions of San Diego's governance failure: a multi-billion
dollar pension deficit; a chronic budget deficit; inadequate city
services and infrastructure; grandiose planning initiatives
divorced from dire fiscal realities; an insulated downtown
redevelopment program plagued by poorly-crafted public-private
partnerships; and, for the metropolitan region, inadequate airport
and port facilities, a severe underinvestment in firefighting
capacity despite destructive wildfires, and heightened Mexican
border security concerns.
Far from a sunny story of paradise and prosperity, this account
takes stock of an important but understudied city, its failed civic
leadership, and poorly performing institutions, policymaking, and
planning. Though the extent of these failures may place San Diego
in a league of its own, other cities are experiencing similar
challenges and political changes. As such, this tale of civic woe
offers valuable lessons for urban scholars, practitioners, and
general readers concerned about the future of their own cities.
Asian Americans are emerging as a political force and yet their
politics have not been systematically studied by either social
scientists or politicians. Asian American politics transcend simple
questions of voting behavior and elective office, going all the way
back to early immigration laws and all the way forward to ethnic
targeting. For the first time, this book brings together original
sources on key topics influencing Asian American politics, knit
together by expert scholars who introduce each subject and place it
in context with political events and the greater emerging
literature. Court cases, legislation, demographics, and key pieces
on topics ranging from gender to Japanese American redress to the
Los Angeles riots to Wen Ho Lee round out this innovative reader on
a politically active group likely to grow in number and electoral
impact.
Unprecedented in its scope, "Rainbow's End" provides a bold new
analysis of the emergence, growth, and decline of six classic
Irish-American political machines in New York, Jersey City,
Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Albany. Combining the
approaches of political economy and historical sociology, Erie
examines a wide range of issues, including the relationship between
city and state politics, the manner in which machines shaped ethnic
and working-class politics, and the reasons why centralized party
organizations failed to emerge in Boston and Philadelphia despite
their large Irish populations. The book ends with a thorough
discussion of the significance of machine politics for today's
urban minorities.
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