Midterm Flashcards
(23 cards)
Political Machine
A political institution where leaders purchase voter support w/offers of public jobs & services
Primary goal: keep power
Origins:
- constructed from the bottom-up
- rooted in the institutional life of ethnic neighborhoods (as a form of socialization)
hierarchical structure
top: boss
wards
precincts
Theories:
- private-regarding theory
- Irish village theory
- public-private alliance theory
- intergovernmental alliance theory
Maintenance: resources limited..selective voter mobilization strategy (public jobs, lesser benefits, symbolic recognition/nothing)
Bias in favor of those in power:
- preference bias
- vote bias
- seat bias
Decline:
- increased # of voters
- limitations of resources
- entry of new players
- welfare-state retrenchment
Implications:
- undemocratic + encouragement of inevitable corruption
(corrupt but efficient, undemocratic but responsive)
1894 national municipal league
promote “good govt” practices and provide a network for local reform groups
implications:
led to major reform
- city manager systems, nonpartisan elections
- established more professional civil services
- led to the overthrow of corrupt local govt.
- gave more power/autonomy to local officials
non-partisan ballot
(REFORM) political parties as the basis for organizing the poor
- solution: removing party labels from ballots
- result: increase rationality in voting (party interest –> public interest)
at-large elections
(REFORM)
machine: single-member district
(small districts elect their own members, divided into wards that elect their own alderman)
- solution: all council membersrs elected by all voters in city (weakening machines + constituents at local level)
- result: ward/neighborhood interest –> city interest
business-like control of govt.
corruption –> transparency/efficiency
- professionalization of civil service & competitive bidding for govt. contracts
- mayor-council –> city manager
immigration law reform
Immigration and Nationality Act amendment of 1965:
- abolished national quotes = reason for more immigrants
the 1980 refugee act:
- accepted refugees by the UN; human rights became important
implications:
- influx of immigrants = strain public services
- increase housing demand = higher housing prices
- demographic changes (i.e., how parties change to earn their support)
1965 national voting rights act
eliminated voting barriers; no qualifications required to vote
1960s great society & war on poverty
domestic programs, promoting equality…eliminating racial injustice/poverty
Implications:
- increased government involvement in urban development, community organizing, and social programs
- tensions over power dynamics (locals vs. federal)
- lack of local accountability
- increased political mobilization
Criticism:
Gentrification = displacement of low-income populations due to rising property values
- failed to reduce poverty in high-crime areas
1964 civil rights act
racial segregation in places/employment became illegal
Jim crow laws
enabled segregation to evolve into a broader issue
publicly segregated in daily life
Implications:
- prohibited blacks from living in the same neighborhood as whites
- reduced social capital = lack of trust
- signs enforced segregation
1968 fair housing act
Segregation was illegal in housing based on sex, gender, religion, disability, etc
implications:
- ensuring everyone has an equal chance to find a place to live
- reduced segregation; promoted diverse neighborhoods; increased housing accessibility
Improvement associations (contracts)
preventing the arrival of blacks to maintain the color line in a neighborhood
among property owners stating that they would not sell or lease their property to blacks
- buying homes from black owners to minimize/marginalize the black community in that area
bonuses if willing to sell
pressured by the community to sign it if not willing to agree to the terms
redlining
discriminatory practice of denying the services (such as banking and insurance), access to jobs & access to health care to residents in certain racially segregated areas
- outlawed by 1968 fair housing act but its still in practice today
Implications:
- segregation
- homeownership
- health - air pollution, low income
- urban sprawl
homeowners loan corporation (HOLC)
1933; 1st of a series of related programs
- provided funds for refinancing urban mortgages in danger of default and granted lower-interest loans to former owners who had lost their homes
- a discriminatory rating system to evaluate the risks associated with loans made to specific neighborhoods
- divided te neighborhoods into 4 categories based on their qualities; lowest coded red
**if owner can’t pay or afford = helps to reinforce mortgages
- govt. sponsored = long-term
- dividing neighborhoods…individuals are targeted by not receiving loans = unable to finance
- impacts private financial industry + elites
(banks relying on govt. whether they should hand out loans = denied finances to blacks)
implications:
- segregation + economic inequality
- disinvestment
- health and air pollution
- reinforced belief that blacks contributed to bad neighborhoods
“negro removal”
disproportionate impact on urban renewal on black communities
housing/urban development = new public housing
- slums/ghettos
- places to relocate blacks
consequences:
- demolitions of black communities were justified by other (important) builds such as schools, hospitals
purpose of getting rid of minorities
- high-rises increasing black density in certain areas = crime/poverty
implications:
- loss of money
- loss of social organization
- psychological trauma
burgess model (concentric zone)
describes/represents how cities grow out (plant ecology)
(downtown (center), zone of transition, zone of the working - class, residential/commuter zone)
- the farther away from the center (urban core) = the better housing
- closer to the urban core = more accessible transportation
- pressure on surrounding areas
- explains urban social structures
implications:
-resource allocation
- political representation
- voting patterns
- political and social unrest
- urban renewal and gentrification
federal housing administration (FHA)
1937
before: mortgages granted for no more than 2/3 of assessed home value
–> this guaranteed over 90% home value; payment period extended 25/30 years
- easier to become homeowner
- lower payments; lower interest rates
-great security
in favor of suburbs
- encouraged single-family homes; new homes
- rating system – redlining –> denying loans to blacks
- vast mortgages went to white middle-class suburbs
Veterans affairs (VA)
1944
- home buyers = vets
- [vet students] allowed by GI Bill (servicemens bill)
- home loans to vets; helps with buying, building, improving, or refinancing a home
edge node
decentralized area on the outskirts of the city
- dense w/businesses, shoping, recreation
-develop in response to suburbanization and changing economic patterns
-contribute to employment growth opportunities
- expanded with the rise of malls…more areas to park (Auto-orientated)
- built in unincorporated or overlapping jurisdiction areas (no effective political managemet)
big boxes
communities oppose their development, not customers
- big businesses such as home depot, costco are built in places not “appropriate”
- neg. impact on local businesses (going out of business due to big retailers competing for profit = small businesses not able to sustain)
“kill other markets” (supermarkets, drugstores, etc)
implications:
- political campaign contributors
- land use patterns: offered tax incentives (low), grants, or infrastructure provision to entice development
- lead to loss of community/diversity
urban sprawl
expansion of cities/towns into the surrounding residential areas
Good:
- “frontier” economic growth
- more residential choices
- responsive govt.
- homogenous political communities; less racial tension
- self-reliance
Bad:
- traffic; increased transportation
- segregation and fragmentation
(single-family zoning)
- life/aesthetic threatened
Policy responses:
- regional planning
- state/fed involvement
solutions?
public transportation, affordable housing
implications:
- political disconnect –> forming own communities
- economic and racial isolation
- social problems (increase in crime)
Suburbs
areas outside of political boundaries of a central city
significance:
- tool of segregation & exclusion
(less diversity & more homogenous neighborhoods)
- suburban autonomy & political fragmentation
- tied to the decline of cities
two waves:
- beginning of 20th century (rapid industrialization; cities weakened – slums)
- post WWI (seg. + fed/local police)
street-level bureaucrats
public service workers who interact directly w/citizens over the course of their jobs, and have substantial discretion in the execution of their work
- direct interaction w/service customers
- substantial discretion
need to mass merit-based civil service exam for employment; tenure system (no political affiliation)– not accountable to the people
examples:
- DMV, police, teachers, social workers, health workers, post-office
Implications:
- shape how policies are experienced and perceived by residents
- limited resources
- inequalities
- inconsistencies with policy implementation
- shapes citizen trust
- housing – prioritizing certain applications & who gets housing assistance
- public safety – deciding to issue citations or arrests
- social service delivery – who receives benefits; disparities
