Contested Terrain: Power, Politics, and Participation in Suburbia(Contributions in Political Science)

Politics, by its nature, is a contentious arena. Suburbia, on the other hand, has long presented the image of a relatively serene, harmonious, and homogenous social context. Until recently little attention has been paid to whatever might be the distinctive qualities of the suburban political scene. Yet, as this collection of essays makes apparent, suburbia is as volatile a political environment as any other. The suburban political sphere is truly a contested terrain, and this volume effectively shows the links between suburban political realities and our collective economic and social well-being. The suburban political sphere is truly a contested terrain. As the authors make clear, the political conflicts that have haunted the United States from its inception—class inequalities, racial frictions, constraints on the democratic impulse—loom large in the suburbia of today. The haven from social turmoil and strife that suburbia represented at mid-century increasingly appears to have been short-lived and, perhaps, even illusory. Political scientists, sociologists, and other researchers as well as concerned citizens are challenged to examine seriously the suburban political landscape. In this volume all will come away with a better understanding of the distinctive practical facets of the suburban political context, and all will have a better appreciation of the connections to our collective economic and social well-being.

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction by Marc Silver and Martin Melkonian Political Issues in the Suburban Context The Politics of the Regional Environment by Barry Commoner The Politics of Full Employment: Its Impact on City and Suburbs by Phillip Harvey Suburban Housing: Toward an Alternative Agenda by Marc Silver Race, Ethnicity and Politics Na Hu'a Haole: Suburbia as a Cultural Imposition by Mehmed Ali and Nahua Patrinos Racial Cleansing in the Suburbs: Suburban Government, Urban Renewal and Segregation, 1945-1960: The Case of Long Island, New York by Andrew Wiese Race and the Origins of Zoning in the Chicago Suburbs by Jonathan L. Entin A Better Home in a Nice Neighborhood: Housing, Race, and Residential Conflict by A. Scott Henderson Citizen Participation and the Political Arena Politics and Power in Suburban New Jersey: The Case of Bergenfield, 1935-1972 by Michael J. Birkner Politics and Ideology in a Metropolitan Suburb by Paul H. Mattingly Public Participation in the Emerging Suburb of Colchester, Vermont: An Observation by William G. MacLeay Patterns of Citizen Participation in Edge and Central Cities by Carmine Scavo Planning, Issues, and Policies Public Discourse: Property Rights, Public Good and NIMBY by JoAnne Myers Bringing Power to the People--Siting the Skunkworks by Frank Burggraf Determinants of Attitudes on School Funding Reform Ideas: Evidence from Suburban Long Island by Michael Mintrom Legislative Reorganization in Nassau County, New York by Edward J. Smits The Public Engages in 'Risk Assessment:' The Demise of Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant on Long Island, New York by Marge Harrison The Politics of Housing and Zoning Policy Suburban Visions and the Landscape of Power: Public Housing, Suburban Diversity, and Participation in Metropolitan Baltimore, 1930s-1950s by Peter H. Henderson The Politics of Housing in the New York Metropolitan Region by John T. Metzger The Legislative Aftermath of Britton v. Town of Chester: Exclusionary Zoning in New Hampshire by Susan J. Siggelakis The War Against the Housing of the Minority Poor: White Plains, New York by Ellen Skinner Index

About the Author :
MARC L. SILVER is Associate Professor of Sociology, Hofstra University. MARTIN MELKONIAN is Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, Hofstra University.