ABSTRACT
In the examination of urban politics, governance, and economics, the way in which social differences and disagreements about the use of urban space play out in the real world are of fundamental importance. While the US Model Cities program no longer exists, the issue of how to involve citizens in local decision-making is important everywhere in the world. The Greek philosopher Aristotle generalizes from his experience with the Greek polis that Kitto describes to propose a theory of urban politics that addresses issues of fundamental importance today. Urban politics is a distinct subfield within the social science discipline of political science. Politics, economics, and public finance are intimately connected. Three selections in this part introduce important ideas about the way in which urban economies work and how urban economics concepts can produce better local government decision-making, greater fiscal equality in metropolitan regions.
