Urban Citizenship and American Democracy

by Amy Bridges (Editor), Michael Javen Fortner (Editor)

Overview

After decades of being defined by crisis and limitations, cities are popular again—as destinations for people and businesses, and as subjects of scholarly study. Urban Citizenship and American Democracy contributes to this new scholarship by exploring the origins and dynamics of urban citizenship in the United States. Written by both urban and nonurban scholars using a variety of methodological approaches, the book examines urban citizenship within particular historical, social, and policy contexts, including issues of political participation, public school engagement, and crime policy development. Contributors focus on enduring questions about urban political power, local government, and civic engagement to offer fresh theoretical and empirical accounts of city politics and policy, federalism, and American democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438461021
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	05/31/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Amy Bridges is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego and the author of Democratic Beginnings: Founding the Western States; Morning Glories: Municipal Reform in the Southwest; and A City in the Republic: Antebellum New York and the Origins of Machine Politics. Michael Javen Fortner is Assistant Professor and Academic Director of Urban Studies at the CUNY School of Professional Studies, Murphy Institute. He is the author of Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction to Cities and Citizenship
Amy Bridges

1. Urban Autonomy and Effective Citizenship
Michael Javen Fortner

2. Putting the City Back into Citizenship: Civics Textbooks and Municipal Government in the Interwar American City
Tom Hulme

3. Latino Public School Engagement and Political Socialization
Marion Orr, Kenneth K. Wong, Emily M. Farris, and Domingo Morel

4. Farewell to the Urban Growth Machine: Community Development Regimes in Smaller, Distressed Cities
Richard A. Harris

5. Counting Bodies and Ballots: Prison Gerrymandering and the Paradox of Urban Political Representation
Khalilah L. Brown-Dean

6. Crime, Punishment, and Urban Governance in Contemporary American Politics
Lisa L. Miller

7. Two Cheers for American Cities: Commentary on Urban Citizenship and American Democracy
Jennifer L. Hochschild

8. American Cities and American Citizenship
Rogers M. Smith

List of Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This edited volume raises important concerns about urban autonomy, inclusive representation, and political efficacy … the included chapters are fully developed and present thoughtful discussion." — CHOICE

From the Publisher