ABSTRACT
Even though many Americans have a value system that is rooted in small town America and seem to be disdainful of cities, America is an urban nation. This chapter will focus on the political economy of cities, that is, the interrelationship between economic factors and government policy. The chapter examines how economic and technological forces influence the development of cities and how urban citizens organize their social and political relations to cope with the changing environment. Although the public agenda expanded as small towns grew into cities, the chapter will discuss how the resources held privately are still important to political leaders. That means that private interests have substantial effects on the urban political process and on the ways in which cities develop.
