Critical Issues for National Urban Policy: A Reconnaissance and Agenda for Further Study

摘要

National urban policy is a strategic perspective on public policy. It operates in two realms: management of mainstream growth and concern with those left behind. Major changes are occurring affecting both realms, moving the debate away from a simplistic formulation of people vs. places. Five major issues are likely to shape the agenda for urban policy for the next decade and beyond: (1) The mobility of people and jobs, (2) The urban underclass, (3) The New Federalism, (4) New relationships between public and private sectors, and (5) The condition of urban infrastructure. These are interrelated, raising two cross-cutting substantive issues: (1) How should urban policy be shaped to optimize adaptation of urban areas to a post-industrial economy. and (2) What policies are most appropriate for dealing with the problems of the underclass. They also raise an institutional issue: How should we manage the governmental and economic system to achieve substantive objectives.