Our paper is motivated by the rationalism/constructivism contrast in the International Relations (IR) field. By reinterpreting this contrast we seek to redirect reflection about theoretical synthesis in the field. Our argument has four steps. First, we introduce a broader intellectual setting...

Although Congress continues to pass urban redevelopment programs and local actors attempt to use these policies to address urban problems, many policies do not live up to initial expectations. Urban policy scholars tend to focus on local political or economic arrangements to explain this...

One way to assess whether governments (at any level) learn from their disaster experience is to examine two similar events at different points in time. We investigate and compare the 1989 EXXON VALDEZ oil spill disaster with the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil platform and oil spill disaster to...

This paper argues that Hurricane Katrina presents a challenge to, and an opportunity for, urban political analysis. It starts with the presumption that Katrina represents a failure of governments at all levels to provide for the basic needs of their citizens. The paper proposes that, to...

How have cities fared during these challenging economic times? While the 1990s and early 2000 was a period of growth and stability for a number of cities, some continued to lose population and industry. The recent economic and housing downturn has exacerbated many of the issues faced by city...

We use a new historical dataset to explore the contention of a century's worth of scholarship that a state's largest city faces discrimination in its legislature. Looking at thirteen states over a 120-year period, we show that this charge is justified: Bills introduced by members of the big city...

There is no real controversy today, when one suggests that migration and urbanization are amongst the two most significant pressures felt in urban areas. Which specific localities migrants go to is shaped by a complex set of forces: national immigration policy, municipal service provision and...