ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the civic culture in Miami, and demonstrates the ways in which this civic culture shapes policy-making in two different areas: economic development and public safety. In 1993, Portes and Stepick described Miami not as a racial and ethnic melting pot but as having 'parallel social structures, each complete with its own status hierarchy, civic institutions, and cultural life'. Racial and ethnic divisions are also reinforced by economic and geographic divisions. "Post-materialist values" are beginning to be injected into political discourse. In order to understand how these divisions actually impact policy outcomes, the chapter discusses the power system in the city. In order to understand the relative lack of organized groups participating in the local political arena and the relative strength of development interests in the city, three features of the decision-making system are key: a history of corruption, a reactive rather than proactive planning approach, and fragmented political institutions.
