Books in Review Metropolitan Areas METROPOLITICS. A Study of Political Culture. By Scott Greer. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York 10016, 1963. xiii, 207 pp. $5.75. What Scott Greer writes I read. Always provocative and generally semi- nal, he organizes old if not dull materials into new and interesting conceptual frame- works. In this book, first of its kind, he explores with care and precision the at- tempts of civic reformers to create metropolitan governments in Miami, St. Louis and Cleveland-who they are, their opponents, the nature of the campaigns and the outcomes. With population and industry having leaped the city’s borders, schemes have been suggested to expand the framework of decision-making to an areawide basis. Experimentation with new forms has been sparse, and the three cities really worthy of analysis constitute Greer’s study. The author views the movements for metropolitan government as morality plays, involving the application of old myths and images to the modern sprawl of metropolitan life. The shibboleths of reformers-the city beautiful, the dis- dain for politics, the cries for integration, coordination and efficiency-continue to be offered as the propaganda for metropolitan federation. If only we had a better structure for decision-making, so plead those desiring change, then we would witness the rebirth of the city, the elimination of decay, the encourage- ment of economic growth and better planned land use. This reviewer enjoyed Greer’s pungent quality and style especially, one must admit, for a topic often treated in a dull fashion. To wit: Study groups for metropolitan reform, the author notes, are often “captained by outside merce- naries,’’ “the outside captains . . . familiar with the free-floating kibitzer, the dis- satisfied liberal, the amateur of local government. Congeniality results, and the agitators become a guerilla army for the campaign of study, a CIA for the study director.” The main conclusion of this book is that the strong local character of governments in America makes metropolitan reform difficult. The cosmopolitans-those leaders of civic virtue and change-operate in too isolated an environment, too far removed from existing local political systems. The author does an objective job in analyzing the various groups and factions engaging in the reform movement, their opponents and their impact on the local voting publics.. JEWEL BELLUSH Hunter College of the City University of New York State, Local Government THE BOOK OF THE STATES, 1964-65. Council of State Governments, 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago 60637, 1964. 649 pp. Tables. $10. THE MUNICIPAL YEAR BOOK, 1964. International City Managers’ Associa- tion, 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago 60637, June 1964. x, 611 pp. Tables. $10. For anyone involved in any way with state and local government in these United States, the latest editions of the two most useful resource volumes in the field have just been issued-the biennial Book of the States, 1964-65 and The Municipal Year Book, 1964. They are more than welcome. Covering a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from the use by municipalities of architects and engineers for building plan examinations to public utility regulation by the states, these massive tomes summarize recent developments in every conceivable field of effort by localities, special districts, counties, metropolitan areas, states and in intergovernmental relations. Information on governmental structure 462

Metropolitan area. Metropolitics. A Study of Political Culture. By Scott Greer. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York 10016, 1963. xiii, 207 pp. $5.75

Download PDF Report

Upload
jewel-bellush
View
217
Download
4

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Metropolitan area. Metropolitics. A Study of Political Culture. By Scott Greer. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York 10016, 1963. xiii, 207 pp. $5.75

Books in Review Metropolitan Areas

METROPOLITICS. A Study of Political Culture. By Scott Greer. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York 10016, 1963. xiii, 207 pp. $5.75.

What Scott Greer writes I read. Always provocative and generally semi- nal, he organizes old if not dull materials into new and interesting conceptual frame- works. In this book, first of its kind, he explores with care and precision the at- tempts of civic reformers to create metropolitan governments in Miami, St. Louis and Cleveland-who they are, their opponents, the nature of the campaigns and the outcomes.

With population and industry having leaped the city’s borders, schemes have been suggested to expand the framework of decision-making to an areawide basis. Experimentation with new forms has been sparse, and the three cities really worthy of analysis constitute Greer’s study. The author views the movements for metropolitan government as morality plays, involving the application of old myths and images to the modern sprawl of metropolitan life. The shibboleths of reformers-the city beautiful, the dis- dain for politics, the cries for integration, coordination and efficiency-continue to be offered as the propaganda for metropolitan federation. If only we had a better structure for decision-making, so plead those desiring change, then we would witness the rebirth of the city, the elimination of decay, the encourage- ment of economic growth and better planned land use.

This reviewer enjoyed Greer’s pungent quality and style especially, one must admit, for a topic often treated in a dull fashion. To wit: Study groups for metropolitan reform, the author notes, are often “captained by outside merce- naries,’’ “the outside captains . . . familiar with the free-floating kibitzer, the dis- satisfied liberal, the amateur of local

government. Congeniality results, and the agitators become a guerilla army for the campaign of study, a CIA for the study director.”

The main conclusion of this book is that the strong local character of governments in America makes metropolitan reform difficult. The cosmopolitans-those leaders of civic virtue and change-operate in too isolated an environment, too far removed from existing local political systems.

The author does an objective job in analyzing the various groups and factions engaging in the reform movement, their opponents and their impact on the local voting publics..

JEWEL BELLUSH Hunter College of the City University

of New York

State, Local Government THE BOOK OF THE STATES, 1964-65.

Council of State Governments, 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago 60637, 1964. 649 pp. Tables. $10.

THE MUNICIPAL YEAR BOOK, 1964. International City Managers’ Associa- tion, 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago 60637, June 1964. x, 611 pp. Tables. $10.

For anyone involved in any way with state and local government in these United States, the latest editions of the two most useful resource volumes in the field have just been issued-the biennial Book of the States, 1964-65 and The Municipal Year Book, 1964. They are more than welcome. Covering a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from the use by municipalities of architects and engineers for building plan examinations to public utility regulation by the states, these massive tomes summarize recent developments in every conceivable field of effort by localities, special districts, counties, metropolitan areas, states and in intergovernmental relations.

Information on governmental structure

462