Just growth : inclusion and prosperity in America's metropolitan regions / Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Benner, Chris.

Contributor:

Pastor, Manuel, 1956-

Series:

Regions and cities ; 50.

Regions and cities

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Income distribution--United States.

Income distribution.

United States.

Equality--United States.

Equality.

Cities and towns--United States--Growth.

Cities and towns.

Growth.

Metropolitan areas--United States.

Metropolitan areas.

Physical Description:

xiv, 234 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2012.

Summary:

In recent years, analysts have pointed to rising inequality in the U.S. as an underlying factor in both our social fragmentation and economic underperformance. This book argues for the possibility of "just growth" - a framework in which the imperatives of equity have been coupled with strategies to shore up the economy - and suggests that much can be learned from efforts to couple prosperity and inclusion at a metropolitan or regional level in the United States.

The authors use a nested approach that combines quantitative analysis of the largest 192 metropolitan regions in the U.S. with a set of seven in-depth case studies to help uncover the subtle and detailed processes, policies, and institutional arrangements that might help explain more equitable growth (or its absence) in metropolitan settings. In both their regressions and their narrative, the authors point to the stabilizing effect of the public sector, the impact of deconcentrating poverty, the growth-enhancing but equity-reducing impacts of having a large immigrant population, the influential role of a minority middle class, and the importance of leadership efforts to develop a shared understanding of regional problems and futures amongst diverse constituencies.

Breaking new ground in its innovative blend of quantitative and qualitative methods, the book essentially argues that another sort of growth is indeed possible. While offering specific insights for regional leaders and analysts of metropolitan areas, the authors also draw a broader - and quite timely - set of conclusions about how to scale up these efforts to address a U.S. economy still seeking to recover from economic crisis and ameliorate distributional divisions. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Inequality and its discontents 1

2 Measuring what we mean 18

3 Getting it right 60

4 Slipping, reversing, stuck 111

5 What does it all mean? 148

6 Just growth 172.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780415681940

0415681944

9780203155585

0203155580

9780415517812

0415517818

OCLC:

714730367