In this weeks lead précis, Xia Li argues that the economic gains attributed to urban growth continue to be distributed unequally. She goes on to argue that increasing public participation in local urban politics is key to increasing the benefits gained by marginalized communities within these urban localities. Many of this weeks authors draw a strong distinction between local and national politics. There is considerable merit in furthering scholarship and understanding of the dynamics of local politics. However, in a world that is increasingly connected-socially, economically and politically-it can be counterproductive to attempt to completely disaggregate local politics from its more broad counterparts.
Analyzing the local economy of the City of San Diego clearly demonstrates the intersection between local and national politics. San Diego is the most south-westerly city in the continental US, and as such shares a southern border with the Mexican city of Tijuana. It is also home to two of the nation's most active border crossings. In July of 2016 alone, nearly 2 million pedestrian and passenger vehicles crossed the Otay border crossing which makes it the nation's busiest border crossing (US Department of Transportation, 2016). In large part due to the fluidity of the US Mexican Border, it is estimated that the local transnational economy has a value of $230 billion dollars (Bloomberg, 2015).
In their work "The City as a Growth Machine", authors Logan and Molotch argue that much of a city's local politics revolve around stimulating and maintaining economic growth. Seemingly, San Diego politicians, businesses and community members have worked diligently to regain the economic solvency lost in the 2008 financial crisis. It is estimated that every year since 2012 the county has created 30,000 jobs; exceeding average national growth rates (San Diego Tribune, 2016). One may observe this growing urban prosperity by counting the growing number of cranes that dot the cities skyline in 2016.
The city of San Diego is an example of how the globalized economy and fluidity of borders can contribute to American prosperity. Unfortunately, the rhetoric of the presidential candidate Donal Trump and other conservative political figures paints a completely different picture than the reality in which San Diegan's live. It is not a far fetched to think that a Trump victory has the potential to destroy the economic growth machine San Diego has worked so diligently to foster. Unfortunately for the residents of border towns across the southern United States, national politics may trump-no pun intended-local politics.
As Sherry Arnstein demonstrates in her work "A Ladder of Citizen Participation", public participation can take a plethora forms and serve an array of purposes. For public participation to have a direct impact on public policy at the local level it has to go beyond placation and tokenism. Arnstein argues that citizen power is only achieved when citizens gain the ability to control and negotiate institutional and programmatic change. However, even if this power is achieved, there are instances where national politics and the subsequent economic policies will directly, negatively and disproportionally affect certain localities. As demonstrated by the case of San Diego, local politics may indeed be less controversial and more predictable than national politics but the importance of their intersection should not be underestimated.
External References:
Bloomberg. "San Diego and Tijuana Bond Over $230 Billion Economy". 2015. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-27/drones-lift-off-as-san-diego-and-tijuana-bond-over-tech-cities
San Diego Tribune."San Diego economy: Good, but could be better". 2016. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/economy/sdut-economic-outlook-san-diego-2016jan14-story.html
US Department of Transportation. Border Crossing/Entry Data, Online Data Tool. 2016.
https://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_BC/TBDR_BC_Index.html
Analyzing the local economy of the City of San Diego clearly demonstrates the intersection between local and national politics. San Diego is the most south-westerly city in the continental US, and as such shares a southern border with the Mexican city of Tijuana. It is also home to two of the nation's most active border crossings. In July of 2016 alone, nearly 2 million pedestrian and passenger vehicles crossed the Otay border crossing which makes it the nation's busiest border crossing (US Department of Transportation, 2016). In large part due to the fluidity of the US Mexican Border, it is estimated that the local transnational economy has a value of $230 billion dollars (Bloomberg, 2015).
In their work "The City as a Growth Machine", authors Logan and Molotch argue that much of a city's local politics revolve around stimulating and maintaining economic growth. Seemingly, San Diego politicians, businesses and community members have worked diligently to regain the economic solvency lost in the 2008 financial crisis. It is estimated that every year since 2012 the county has created 30,000 jobs; exceeding average national growth rates (San Diego Tribune, 2016). One may observe this growing urban prosperity by counting the growing number of cranes that dot the cities skyline in 2016.
The city of San Diego is an example of how the globalized economy and fluidity of borders can contribute to American prosperity. Unfortunately, the rhetoric of the presidential candidate Donal Trump and other conservative political figures paints a completely different picture than the reality in which San Diegan's live. It is not a far fetched to think that a Trump victory has the potential to destroy the economic growth machine San Diego has worked so diligently to foster. Unfortunately for the residents of border towns across the southern United States, national politics may trump-no pun intended-local politics.
As Sherry Arnstein demonstrates in her work "A Ladder of Citizen Participation", public participation can take a plethora forms and serve an array of purposes. For public participation to have a direct impact on public policy at the local level it has to go beyond placation and tokenism. Arnstein argues that citizen power is only achieved when citizens gain the ability to control and negotiate institutional and programmatic change. However, even if this power is achieved, there are instances where national politics and the subsequent economic policies will directly, negatively and disproportionally affect certain localities. As demonstrated by the case of San Diego, local politics may indeed be less controversial and more predictable than national politics but the importance of their intersection should not be underestimated.
External References:
Bloomberg. "San Diego and Tijuana Bond Over $230 Billion Economy". 2015. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-27/drones-lift-off-as-san-diego-and-tijuana-bond-over-tech-cities
San Diego Tribune."San Diego economy: Good, but could be better". 2016. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/economy/sdut-economic-outlook-san-diego-2016jan14-story.html
US Department of Transportation. Border Crossing/Entry Data, Online Data Tool. 2016.
https://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_BC/TBDR_BC_Index.html