Fractured Cities

In both the United States and Britain, cities are undergoing changes which have intensified the divisions between regions, social classes and racial groups. These cities urgently need to develop new social, economic and political structures to meet both contemporary and future challenges. Concerned with urban change and the workings of the capitalist market, this book describes how public choice and regulation theory addressed the market, particularly during the Reagan and Thatcher years. The theoretical and practical policy issues created by the "conservative revolutions" have dramatically altered the political economy of the urban environment. The book links the economic workings of the market to the changes taking place in the urban context. It looks at the two-sided nature of urban change in relation to wide social, political and economic developments. The expansive aspects of the market economy and its tendency to move into recession have important social and political implications: * the polarisation of urban societies * the degree to which community groups are denied access to political power * the community-specific benefits of economic growth Fractured Cities assesses the implications of social disorder and injustice and the attempts from both the public and private sectors to offset economic decline and social conflict. The book concludes with an assessment of emerging structures and approaches designed to extend local participation. These are viewed within the context of environmental problems, the concept of "limits to growth" and the possibilities of different urban identities.