Politics in States and Communities (15 Ed.) Thomas Dye and Susan MacManus Edited by Bob Botsch for POLI 458

Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Metropolitics: Conflict in the Metropolis

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Learning Objectives Describe the extent of metropolitization in the United States and the characteristics of metropolitan areas. Compare cities with suburbs, trace the movement of people from cities to suburbs, and assess the extent to which the media has exaggerated urban problems. Analyze the causes of suburban sprawl, and evaluate whether it is the root cause of inner-city problems. Describe the characteristics of the metropolitan areas advocated for by new urbanists. Compare regionalism and localism. Discuss the purported benefits of metropolitan consolidation. Analyze the purported benefits of maintaining the existing, fragmented system of metropolitan governments that emphasizes local control. Evaluate whether current, fragmented metropolitan governments benefit the public by providing a marketplace in which citizens may select whichever community offers the services and taxes best suited to their needs. Describe the tools used by metropolitan governments to coordinate activities throughout a region, and assess their effectiveness in addressing the problems of metropolitan areas.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What Is a Metro? Metropolitan statistical area: A city of 50,000 or more people together with adjacent counties; predominantly urban populations and with close ties to the central city Micropolitan statistical area: 10,000 to 50,000 people within a city with adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic interconnectedness with the urban core; suburban area Megalopolis: Metro areas that adjoin each other, creating a continuous urban environment over an extended area More than 90% of U.S. population reside in these areas

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Metropolitan Statistical Areas

Number of Metropolitan Statistical Areas in States

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Metropolis: Setting for Conflict Growth engines of the U.S. economy: Ten largest metro areas have economies larger than that of 36 states Different economies: highly specialized, complex Ethnic and racial diversity: Some are majority-minority Interdependence: Web of economic/social relationships Fragmented government: Many governments in area Differences create potential for much conflict

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Metros: Growth Engines

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Variation across MSAs in the Proportion of Adults with a College Degree

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Large Metro Areas with Majority-Minority Populations

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cities Versus Suburbs Suburbanization—created by highway system and cars First Suburbs—first ring, now often run down “Boomburbs”—100k pop + in metro area w/hi growth, most in SW, e.g. Phoenix area “Exurbs”—new suburbs around the growing boombergs Impact of Great Recession—more on burbs b/c of housing bust City–Suburban SWS/Ethno Differences—barrier to cooperation Social Class—Burbs more middle class, except “gentrification” Familism—burbs more based on child-centered lifestyle Race—burbs less diverse, but that is changing Poverty—higher in cities and first ring Parties—Democratic cities, Republican burbs Costs of Government—cities more expensive Taxes—slightly higher in cities, but differences shrinking Is Bad News Coverage the Problem or the Solution? Unclear!

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Suburbs vs. Cities: More Traditional versus More Nontraditional Households

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. A Majority of All Racial/Ethnic Groups in Major Metro Areas Now Live in the Suburbs

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Poverty Rates Higher in Cities than Suburbs

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Suburban “Sprawl” Sprawl: A negative reference to the outward extension of new low- density residential and commercial development from the core city. Inner city: The area of the central city in which poverty, joblessness, crime, and social dependency are most prevalent. New urbanists: Advocates of compact, livable communities; staunch opponents of sprawl.

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Suburban “Sprawl” Characteristics: Unlimited outward extension of new development Low-density residential and commercial settlements Leapfrog development jumping out beyond established settlements Fragmentation of powers over land use among many small localities Dominance of transportation by private automobiles Widespread development of commercial strips Great fiscal disparities among localities Reliance mainly on housing that is lowing value for low-income households. Cheap land and govt policies that promote home buying

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. “Smart Growth” In suburban settings: An approach to development that features –walkability--pedestrian-oriented –mixed-use (small commercial centers near housing –mixed-income areas within the same neighborhood –dwellings with small footprint –common greenspace In urban areas, Gentrification: The movement of upper-class residents and trendy high-priced restaurants and boutiques to downtown locations. It revitalizes downtown areas

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Metro Consolidation or Fragmentation? Consolidation/Regionalism: Centralizing or combining activities of local governments in a metropolitan area Functional Consolidation: Combining certain services currently delivered independently by each local government--also known as service merger Fragmentation/Localism: Allowing individual local governments to provide services within their own communities

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Case for Metropolitan Consolidation (Regionalism) Public services: Cost reduction?: But most studies show larger municipal governments are uneconomic Coordination: Transportation problem most common example Equality: helps eliminate inequalities in financial burdens throughout metro area Responsibility: clearly establishes responsibility for metropolitan-wide policy

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Case for Fragmented Government (Localism) Identity: a partial escape from the anonymity of mass urban culture Access: Provides additional forums for political action Effectiveness: increases sense of personal effectiveness Influence: Offers larger number of groups opportunity to affect governmental policy Schools: some like less diversity in schools

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Metropolitan Government as a Marketplace The Tiebout Model: Economic theory asserts that families and businesses in metropolitan areas can maximize preferences for services and taxes by choosing locations among local governments Problems: –Mobility: model assumes high degree, but many city residents do not have unlimited mobility –Equity: “free riders” But provide satisfaction: many different types of neighborhoods are judged satisfactory by the people choosing to live in them

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Managing Methods in Metro Areas Annexation: Most popular integrating device City-county consolidation: Politically difficult to pull off Special districts: Units perform a single function Interjurisdictional agreements: Voluntary, cooperative Councils of government: Associations recommend but no power to implement “Metro” government: A federated system (Miami, Nashville only examples) Little scholarly agreement on what is best

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Attempts for City-County Consolidation Mostly Fail!

Large Metro Areas Are Magnets for Mega-Commuters (>/= 1.5 hrs or 50 mi)

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. On the Web Governing magazinewww.governing.com Governing magazinewww.governing.com Maintained by HUD, extensive databasewww.knowledgeplex.org Maintained by HUD, extensive databasewww.knowledgeplex.org Smart Growth Networkwww.smartgrowth.org Smart Growth Networkwww.smartgrowth.org Sustainable Communities Networkwww.sustainable.org Sustainable Communities Networkwww.sustainable.org