In a rapidly transforming world, America's cities occupy a strategic position in the global web and play an increasing role in determining the quality of local citizenship. In this book, we move beyond scholarly debates and political disputes to survey the remarkable transformations in local economies as local citizens and leaders face the twenty-first century".Are cities obsolete relics of an earlier era? In this pathbreaking book, Susan E. Clarke and Gary L. Gaile contend that contrary to this conventional wisdom, cities are growing in importance. Far from irrelevant, local governments are vital political arenas for the new work of cities -- empowering their citizens to adapt and serve as catalysts for the global economy.
Using Robert Reich's The Work of Nations as a point of departure, the authors argue that globalism, coupled with increasing disparities of wealth and power, changes not only the work of nations but also the role of communities. Clarke and Gaile begin by detailing the transformation of the United States to a postindustrial economy situated in a "global web". They then examine the emergence of local entrepreneurial policy choices in the context of economic and political restructuring and in the absence of federal resources.
Using empirical data to test assumptions about what leads cities to choose new policies, Clarke and Gaile explore local context through four case studies: Cleveland, Tacoma, Syracuse, and Jacksonville. They discuss human capital as the linchpin of globalization, arguing that analytical ability, information skills, and the capacity to innovate are all key to wealth creation. In conclusion, they contend that inattention to the decline in humanand social capital will ultimately undermine any local development efforts -- unless local policymakers craft responses to globalization that integrate rather than isolate citizens.
The Work of Cities is both bold and nuanced, pragmatic yet compassionate in its recommendations. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the fate of our metropolitan communities and the people who live there.
