Public Policy and Regionalism: III. Urban Issues

Abstract

The major inequalities in the United States have shifted from rural to inner-urban locations since the 1950s. Although the problem areas involved take up less space, the populations are just as great, and many of the issues have a geographical dimension. Metropolitan areas in the United States with 2 million people or more occupy the same space as Greater London in the UK with its 8 million residents. In addition, the links of these large metropolitan areas with the surrounding places give them a major influence on the economy, society and politics of those places. Issues which affect major metropolitan areas in the US are thus of regional significance.