Authors:
- Critically discusses aspects of city governance across the UK, Europe, North America and Australia
- Integrates insights from a wide range of disciplines, including public policy, politics, sociology and geography
- Addresses one of the most dynamic policy areas of our time
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This textbook introduces ideas, theories, concepts and examples to help us understand the political and policy challenges of governing cities, centred on the principal challenge of how to make our cities more equitable. It poses critical questions – about how cities are governed, by whom, according to what values, and for whom – and draws from a wide range of urban scholarship. The ‘how’ covers urban politics and the policy instruments which result. The ‘by whom’ addresses power relations within and beyond the city and the tensions between different priorities and values. The ‘for whom’ centres equity and the role of citizens and collective action in how we are governed.
In addressing these questions, the book provides an overview of the core theories of urban politics and governance, thinks about what happens at different scales, and examines new forms of citizen activism which herald alternatives for cities. It is a unique introduction to students, policymakers and practitioners who want to understand and seek to improve urban politics and policy.
Reviews
(Paul Cairney, University of Stirling, UK)
“This is the book so many of us critically-minded urbanists have been waiting for! A clear, comprehensive, and refreshingly critical introduction to the governance of cities, urbanism, and the possibilities of equitable and just urban social change. Completely accessible to undergraduate students, yet analyticallysophisticated and in-depth enough to also serve as a foundational text for graduate students. Although written by a UK-based scholar with extensive experience in Australia, its scope and approach is remarkably broad. Pill’s keen understanding of American cities and public policy shapes much of the presentation, making it ideal for courses on US cities as well.”
(David Imbroscio, University of Louisville, USA)
“In weaving critical and comparative perspectives throughout a very lively and accessible exploration of urban governance and policy, Madeleine Pill’s book is a significant achievement. It will reward students at all levels for years to come, especially those who study cities for their political vibrancy and transformative potential.”- Professor Jonathan Davies, De Montfort University, UK
“Governing Cities provides students across planning, public policy, politics and geography the conceptual tools to understand how cities are governed, and how they could be governed in more equitable, democratic and citizen-centred ways. Its use of historical and contemporary examples from a diverse set of countries means that it will become foundational for urban studies teaching and learning worldwide.”
- Professor Robyn Dowling, University of Sydney, Australia
Authors and Affiliations
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Department of Urban Studies & Planning, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Madeleine Pill
About the author
Madeleine Pill is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield, UK. Her research and teaching, conducted in the UK, US and Australia, focus on equitable change in the state-society relationships of urban governance.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Governing Cities
Book Subtitle: Politics and Policy
Authors: Madeleine Pill
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72621-8
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-72620-1Published: 22 June 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-72621-8Published: 21 June 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 183
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations
Topics: Human Geography, Public Policy, Urban Studies/Sociology, Governance and Government