Does local government matter? : how urban policies shape civic engagement / Elaine B. Sharp.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sharp, Elaine B.

Series:

Globalization and community ; v. 19.

Globalization and community ; v. 19

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Local government--United States.

Local government.

Political participation.

United States.

Municipal government--United States.

Municipal government.

Political planning--United States.

Political planning.

Urban policy--United States.

Urban policy.

Political participation--United States--States.

Physical Description:

vii, 233 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2012]

Summary:

Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, improve air quality, lower drunk-driving statistics, or achieve any of the other goals specified for them. Whether such programs also have consequences on future demands for government action and whether they can heighten-or dampen-citizen involvement in civic activities are questions typically overlooked.

Employing policy feedback theory to a series of local government programs, Elaine B. Sharp shows that these programs do affect citizens' political participation. In this clear analysis, Sharp finds that local governments' social program activities actually dampen participation of the have-nots, while cities' development programs reinforce the political involvement of already-privileged business interests. Iconic urban programs such as community policing and neighborhood empowerment fail to enhance civic engagement or build social capital at the neighborhood level; at worst, they can deepen divisions-especially racial divisions-that undercut urban communities. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction. Government programs matter: political learning, policy feedbacks, and the policy-centered approach

The participatory impacts of county governments' means-tested and universal social programs

City government and neighborhoods: intentional empowerment and reactionary mobilization

Community policing: a reform policy for police responsiveness

City government, economic development incentives, and business influence

The impact of development incentive policy reform: a case study

Policy-centered theory and urban programs: community effects in a global context.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780816677085

0816677085

9780816677184

0816677182

OCLC:

745766033