Profound economic and social changes over the past two decades have put enormous pressures on American cities and led to reorganization of local political arrangements. Except for a few large cities, however, these changes are uncharted and not well understood. Among the trends that have contributed to the crisis in urban governance are: 1) the decline in public money available for local development projects, 2) the consequent erosion of regulations supporting representation of minority and neighborhood interests in development activities, 3) the rise of a variety of new social movements (e.g. environmentalism) based on shared values rather than ethnic or neighborhood identities, and 4) the shift of development decisions to non-electoral area. This research examines the interplay of these trend in eight little-studies American cities since 1980. The research is framed and interpreted in terms of urban regime theory and focuses of differences in the nature, extent, and scope of interest representation across different policy areas in these different cities over time. Aggregate statistics will be supplemented with intensive interviews with political elites and the leaders of local interest groups and associations. When completed this research will provide a better understanding of contemporary patterns of representation in American cities and help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative models of urban governance.
