URBAN POLITICAL CULTURE AND POLICY IN TEN AMERICAN CITIES

CRAIG BOOTH FRASER, Purdue University

Abstract

American urban political culture is defined in this study as the patterns of orientation of city residents toward the political objects and processes in the cities in which they live. Most previous research has inferred political culture from ethnic, religious, or socio-economic characteristics of city residents. The few studies which have constructed measures of political culture have examined aggregated multi-city data rather than making inter-city comparisons. This study constructed measures of political culture, by factor analysis, from sample survey data gathered in each of ten cities by the National League of Cities in 1970. The analysis resulted in fifteen conceptually coherent patterns. Seven patterns were general in that the variables composing them were consistent across the ten cities. Eight patterns were local, composed of variables which differed somewhat from city to city. Close examination of the results of this analysis demonstrated that the structure of urban political culture is a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon. Content scores were developed for five patterns for which policy measurement was possible. These scores were compared to five and ten year trends in per capita revenues, expenditures, and debt. Few of these comparisons were statistically significant although the relationships were in the expected direction. This finding lent some weak support to the view that political culture sets boundaries for policy. Further analysis did suggest that the more concrete the cultural pattern is the narrower will be the culturally determined boundaries. It was found that the political culture of the cities studied, in 1970, did support increased governmental spending and governmental role in urban problem solving and that governmental policy was responsive to such desires. The key question for future research concerns the apparent discrepancy between the political culture and policies of American cities discovered in this study and those which seem prevalent at the national level gives the 1980 election results and subsequent national policy direction.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Political science

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