Struggling Giants

by Kantor, Paul; Lefevre, Christian; Saito, Asato; Savitch, H. V.; Thornley, Andy

• ISBN13: 9780816677436
• ISBN10: 0816677433
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-03
• Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr

Summary

Throughout the past thirty years a small number of city-regions have achieved unprecedented global status in the world economy while undergoing radical changes. Struggling Giantsexamines the transformation of four of the most significant metropolises: London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo. This volume analyzes the thorniest issues these sprawling city-regions have faced, including ameliorating social problems through public policies, the effect of globalization on local governance, and the relationships between local, regional, and national institutions. Three critical themes frame Struggling Giants. The first is the continuing struggle for governability in the midst of regional governmental fragmentation. The second theme is how the city-regions fight to manage powerful political biases. Policy-making is often selective, the authors find, and governments are more responsive to economic exigencies than to social or environmental needs. Finally, these city-regions are shown to be strong economic leaders in part because they are able to change-although the authors reveal that pragmatism and piecemeal policy solutions can still prevail.

Author Biography

Paul Kantor is emeritus professor of political science at Fordham University. Christian Lefvre is director of the French Institute of Urban Affairs and professor at the University of Paris Est, LATTS. Asato Saito is an independent scholar in Tokyo. H. V. Savitch is Brown and Williamson Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Louisville. Andy Thornley is emeritus professor of urban planning at the London School of Economics.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction: Governable Giants?	p. 1
Four Global City-Regions: A Profile	p. 19
The Greater London Region
Global Pressures and Governmental Innovation	p. 55
Strong Metropolitan Leadership	p. 73
The New York Tri-State Region
Fragmented Metropolis, Decentralist Impulses	p. 99
Managed Pluralism	p. 125
Paris-Île de France
A Fragmented and Conflicting Territory	p. 155
Unregulated Competitive Decentralization	p. 171
The Tokyo City-Region
New Challenges, Old Governance	p. 193
World City Policies and the Erosion of the Developmental State	p. 219
Pathways of Change
Governance and Globalism: Political Responses of Four World City-Regions	p. 241
Conclusion: Are Global City-Regions Governable?	p. 269
Notes	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 285
Index	p. 301
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