ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the structure of federalism has decoupled local government from national power and public policy making. Almost every analysis of the impact of federalism on American cities begins with a commentary on the fact that cities are creatures of the states. The most important effects of federalism on cities can be discovered in legal and structural relationships, as well as in the political dynamics that characterize the federal system. The chapter labels the first effect of federalism the representation effect. It also labels the second consequential effect of the cities' dependency on the states has been expressed in the political dynamics associated with the fragmentation of governments in metropolitan areas. Unlike the European nations, the United States has never implemented a coherent set of urban policies. Some cuts also occurred in Europe but a disconnection between national governments and cities would have been almost unthinkable because cities there are essential components of national systems of governance.
