"Underfunded pension liabilities threaten the fiscal stability of many cities. While Detroit's bankruptcy has dominated the headlines, the problem is widespread. With ongoing battles in many localities, policymakers are increasingly turning their attention to the legacy issues surrounding the...

Acknowledgements -- Preface / Jamie Peck -- Introduction / Mark Davidson and Kevin Ward -- Austerity and the spectacle: urban triage and post-political development in Detroit / L Owen Kirkpatrick and Chalem Bolton -- Austerity as the new normal : the fiscal politics of retrenchment in San Jose,...

This volume provides a unique insight into the ways local governments have maintained financial resilience in the face of the significant challenges posed by the era of austerity. Taking an international perspective, it provides an enlightening and practical analysis of the different capacities...

Introduction : shadow governments and the remaking of the American local state / Dennis R. Judd, Evan McKenzie, and Alba Alexander -- City-building capacity and special-purpose authorities : institutions, interests, and the local state / James M. Smith -- Phantom governments : multiple-function...

Front Cover -- Governmental Financial Resilience: International Perspectives on How Local Governments Face Austerity -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of Contributo rs -- Chapter 1 Introduction: Governments and Crises -- Studying crises and austerity in the public sector -- An alternative...