Approaches to the governance of US cities have many strong features. Over the decades democratic traditions have been healthy and many US urban residents –whether living in city or suburb – have enjoyed relatively high standards of living. The starting point for this paper is that all is not well in urban America. Indeed, some US cities face major urban challenges, because global economic restructuring has decimated job opportunities and prosperity for many citizens. Given this context of rapid change what, if anything, can US policymakers learn from experience with city planning and urban governance in other countries?

It is hoped that this paper can, by reframing debates and offering new sources of evidence, stimulate fresh thinking relating to US public policy for cities.

Examples from Italy and from other European countries suggest that urban leadership and community involvement can be creatively combined.

City leaders can play a vital role in facilitating the creation of an effective participatory governance arrangement. Leaders taking time to consult and collaborate, can generate policy innovation as well as legitimacy for their leadership agenda.

There is room for more innovation with neighbourhood decentralization as a means of tackling the problems encountered in highly centralized bureaucracies  and there is a need for fresh thinking in the way ‘leadership teams’ work both within city hall and among city hall and other agencies.

It is worth debating whether the existing US pattern of fragmented metropolitan governance (compared with other countries) is delivering a cost effective and democratic form of governance.

Innovations in participation that work well in one particular country may not work so well in the US because of differences in political traditions and practices.

College of Urban planning & public affairs
Robin Hambleton, tel. +1 312.413.8088

01/01/2006

Robin Hambleton

research

Urban Policy