Canada's Seraglio Cities
Political Barriers to Regional Governance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3009136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James Lightbody (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 175 |
| Publication date | 1999-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Canadian Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0318-6431 • E-ISSN: 1710-1123 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3341728 |
| OpenAlex | W258475710 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 7 |
The standing argument against governmental consolidation of metropolitan munici- palities is that political boundaries reflect social and economic differentiation. One or another role of the socially differentiated suburb has become a well documented North American phenomenon. The sustaining argument of suburban councillors in any governmentally fragmented metropolitan system is that there exists great divergence in the social composition of their metropolis which, when codified by the artifact of local boundary, justifies differentiated lifestyle claims. These beliefs lend legitimacy to urban myths about better service levels, and a feeling that genuine communities, distinct from the city as a whole, and somehow superior, persists. If there are found to be no distinctions at either of these levels of community or service, the continuing case for the governmentally fragmented city ought not remain so passionate. The case study contrasts the evidence of Calgary, with its unitary municipal government, with the polycentropolis of Edmonton and finds, on both points, a substantial disproof of the traditional public choice case. What is uncovered is that the coalition in the fight for local identity masks a struggle for con- trol of the commercial tax base for some communities, psychological distancing by the exclusion of 'undesirable' tenants in others, and personal status considerations for the councillors everywhere
Corporate governance · Distancing · Economics · Legitimacy · Local government · Metropolitan area · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Canadian Identity and History · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration
The Reform of a Metropolitan Government
Tribunals, Politics, and the Public Interest
Urban Innovation
Politics and provincial government spending in Canada
Reducing costs by consolidating municipalities
A new perspective on clothing the emperor
The impact of language differences on metropolitan reform in Montreal
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2017 (2) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |