Week 7 PSC1115 New York City Politics PDF

A DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK CITY & URBAN POLITICS IN AMERICA LLOYD CHRISTIAN M. MEDINA, MPAf PSC1115: POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN AMERICA [email protected]  URBAN POLITICS In the American context, is Urban Politics advantageous compared to Rural Politics? URBAN POLITICS Urban Politics is a subfield...

A DISCUSSION ON NEW YORK CITY & URBAN POLITICS IN AMERICA LLOYD CHRISTIAN M. MEDINA, MPAf PSC1115: POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN AMERICA [email protected]  URBAN POLITICS In the American context, is Urban Politics advantageous compared to Rural Politics? URBAN POLITICS Urban Politics is a subfield within political science that focuses on the study of power relations, decision-making processes, and policies in urban areas. Urban communities are to be found in towns and cities; urban politics is about the making of decisions that protect or undermine citizen well-being in such communities. Highlights the political and economic trends and transformations of the last seventy years in American cities. NEW YORK CITY POLITICS  Intergovernment NEY YORK al system of the CITY United States Social City New York City in the Twenty-First Century NEW YORK CITY POLITICS New York City politics is a dynamic and multifaceted component of American politics and governance in general, it combines local concerns with national issues in ways that are unique to the city's diverse population and global influence (Smith, 2012). THE FEDERALIST Hamilton is known to be the most important New York Federalist, the author of a large portion of the Federalist Papers, and the party’s floor leader in the state convention. The “anti-federalist” ideology has dented Hamilton’s beliefs in American Politics.  THE ANTI-FEDERALIST Melancton Smith, the Anti-Federalist floor leader, has always been at the center of this debate because his decision to ratify swayed enough of his colleagues to secure New York’s adoption of the Constitution. ISSUE ON SLAVERY IN EARLY NEW YORK Slavery has always been an important issue in American constitutional history, heavily in Early New York starting in the 1780s. Staughton Lynd ‘s “The abolitionist critique of the Constitution” and “neo-Garrisonian” trend has continued and expanded into the twenty-first century.  What are the Three (3) Functions of Governance in Urban Political Systems? FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNANCE DEMOCRATIC IN URBAN ACCOUNTABILIT POLITICAL Y SYSTEMS DELIVERY OF PUBLIC GOODS AND SERVICES MAINTENANCE OF CIVIL HARMONY  DELIVERY OF PUBLIC DEMOCRATIC MAINTENANCE OF CIVIL ACCOUNTABILITY GOODS HARMONY AND SERVICES There will be conflicts among those involved in the political system in regard to decisions concerning the Concerns the extent to which the delivery of public goods and services This theme includes the delivery of leaders of the political system and the response to citizen demands. those services that have been respond to the demands of the deemed critical to urban governance, people and are held accountable Political system decisions create such as police, fire, sanitation, to the people. winners and losers. public health, and education. Democratic accountability depends Governance of the political system is The service delivery function also on elections but also on the best served when citizens remain encompasses amenities such as representative nature of the committed to the process by which parks, welfare, and social services entire political system, including decisions are made, regardless of that promote health and a level of interest groups, political parties, whether they win or lose on those key well-being for all citizens regardless and executive branch of decisions. of income and that add to the city’s government. overall quality of life. Formal and Informal mechanisms: (1) Inclusive democratic procedures and; (2) Process’s distributive decisions  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMEN T  NEW YORK CITY MANHATTAN BROOKLYN THE BRONX QUEENS STATEN ISLAND CHALLENGES IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NEW YORK Affordable housing and homelessness, Income inequality, labor market issues, tax burden, healthcare access costs, and climate change are just some of the hindrances in New York’s economic development. These problems that are associated with the decision- making in New York City politics are easily evident within the social and economic spheres. Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024) MANHATTAN, NEW YORK Both the private market and the political system focus the majority of economic development decisions on Manhattan. This is where the real estate industry, businesses, and developers want to invest, and this is where the city’s political system believes they can get the biggest return on tax revenues.  The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (“9/11”) caused major loss of human life, financial resources, and infrastructure. Within hours, over 30 million square feet of real estate in Downtown Manhattan was lost, creating an unprecedented change in supply and demand for real estate in the area. Source: Sundstrom (2021) THE ECONOMIC CITY The development of the modern city is primarily a result of economic behavior on the part of those seeking to manufacture, buy, sell, or trade goods. Political systems raise most of their revenue for economic services by taxing the economic activities, and resulting wealth, of its citizens and businesses. VOTE WITH THEIR FEET “Vote with their feet” by Charles Tiebeout suggests that people locate in a particular jurisdiction because of the specific mix of taxes and services offered by that jurisdiction (Tiebout 1956). Optimal bundles of taxes and public goods has played a central role in urban fiscal policy for over 50 years.  END OF PRESENTATION AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT #5 NOVEMBER 05, 2024 (TUESDAY)