"Culture wars" have turned American communities into ideological battlegrounds. When issues like gay rights, needle exchange programs, abortion clinic protests, and hate crime are at stake, the response of citizens is likely to be strong--and that of local governments is likely to be unpredictable. This collection provides alternative explanations of local actions with a focus on current conflict. A team of prominent scholars in urban politics examines how local governments handle morality-based issues: whether they evade controversies or instigate them, enact policies responsive to...
"Culture wars" have turned American communities into ideological battlegrounds. When issues like gay rights, needle exchange programs, abortion clinic...
Elaine B. Sharp Yvette Alex-Assensoh Susan E. Clarke
Topless bars, casino gambling, needle exchange programs for drug addicts--there's no question, morality issues remain front and center in urban politics. Presenting a systematic analysis of culture-war issues at the local level, Elaine Sharp shows how American cities deal with these ongoing concerns. Drawing on a sample of ten strategically chosen cities, she explains differences in how municipalities respond to controversies surrounding sex business, abortion clinics, legalized gambling, gay rights, and drug use. By analyzing the relative importance of subculture, economics, and...
Topless bars, casino gambling, needle exchange programs for drug addicts--there's no question, morality issues remain front and center in urban politi...
Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, improve air quality levels, lower drunk-driving rates, or achieve any of the other goals that government programs are ostensibly created to do. Whether or not such programs also have consequences with respect to future demands for government action and whether government programs can heighten--or dampen--citizen involvement in civic activities are questions that are typically overlooked.
This book applies such questions to local government....
Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, impro...
Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, improve air quality levels, lower drunk-driving rates, or achieve any of the other goals that government programs are ostensibly created to do. Whether or not such programs also have consequences with respect to future demands for government action and whether government programs can heighten--or dampen--citizen involvement in civic activities are questions that are typically overlooked.
This book applies such questions to local government....
Until recently, policy evaluation has mostly meant assessing whether government programs raise reading levels, decrease teen pregnancy rates, impro...
