Reconstructing Urban Regime Theory : Regulating Urban Politics in a Global Economy

Providing a robust conceptual framework, urban regime theory has - despite its cited shortcomings - gained a dominant position in the literature on local politics, in addition to its recent use in contexts outside the United States and in comparative cross-national research. Reconstructing Urban Regime Theory presents a challenging argument for the need to reconceptualize urban regime′s middle level abstractions by interpreting it through the higher level abstractions of regulationist theory. The contributors propose stronger conceptual linkages between local agents and institutions, regime transformation, and the restructuring of urban space. The blend of empirical and case study provides an excellent mix of theory and practice.

Urban regime theory has gained a dominant position in the literature on local politics in the United States and its use in comparative cross-national research despite its cited shortcomings. In Reconstructing Urban Regime Theory, editor Mickey Lauria presents a challenging argument for the need to reconceptualize urban regime′s middle-level abstraction by interpreting it through the lens of the higher-level abstraction of regulationist theory. The noted contributors to this volume propose stronger conceptual linkages between local agents and institutions, regime transformation, and the restructuring of urban space. The blend of empirical and case-study chapters provide an excellent mix of theory and practice that makes Reconstructing Urban Regime Theory well suited to a broad spectrum of upper-level undergraduate courses covering urban studies, political science, sociology, and geography as well as a rich resource for academics and researchers in these fields.