A book describing the political economy of urban change which explores the future of the city and the implications of social disorder and injustice. `The range and depth of new developments he explores will surprise the expert and instruct the beginner ... Local governments are privatizing and trimming national state agencies, creating competitive service providers, involving citizens in service delivery specifics, and trying high tech tools. Jacobs provides a road map to all this and more.' - Political Studies

` ... this is a stimulating book, and will have served its purpose admirably if it manages to introduce a broader, theoretically inquisitive, audience .' - Environment and Planning A

`A comprehensive introduction to urban politics in the United States and Britain which both surveys recent developments and explains the theoretical and political significance of these changes ... an important contribution to recent urban political economy.' - Desmond S. King, St John's College, Oxford.