City Politics in the United States

In modern America, how does a city become a legal entity?

A city can become a legal entity in modern America provided that it is a place with a certain population and infrastructure. In other words, this legal entity can be formed around some manufacturing. At the same time, a city can be created and legalized if some location is inhabited by individuals that work in manufacturing in another area. For instance, as stated in the study by Judd and Swanstrom, by 1970 a majority of the manufacturing jobs in metropolitan areas were locates outside the old industrial centers (291).

Why didnt cities have a political voice before the 1940s?

The cities in the United States in the early twentieth century did not have a political voice because the government and courts were the basic sources of decisions concerning local governance. As such, the municipal governors were allowed to act only in accordance with the governmental acts and legislature that limited the rights and freedoms of urban citizens. An only in 1920 the changes began; reformers lobbied state legislature to adopt universal health insurance, workers compensation, and relief programs for widows, children, and the elderly (Judd and Swanstrom 43).

Name at least three (3) forms of municipal governance and how they work

The municipal governance as it was carried out in the late nineteenth century in the American cities included three main sources of power: the legislature, the city elite, and city residents. In this respect, the legislature served as the main source of rules and regulations; the city elite was concerned about all major fields such as economics, social, cultural, and political events, and development; the people could influence the decisions of the city elite and it would perform better if something went wrong or the changes were inappropriate.

How did transportation and production technology impact city structure and politics?

Transportation and production technologies required certain regulations and norms that would control the relationships between the working people and the municipal government. As such, the city structure of the American cities was much better than the one of most European cities through the expenditures of the municipal governments throughout the country were high as well. The politics changed as more attention should be given to the relationships of laborers and the governance including compensations, insurance, and other important details.

Explain Dillons Rule and how it has impacted the governance of American cities

Dillons Rule is the set of regulations for the municipal governance, according to which the municipal governments power should be limited, compared to the federal powers, and regulate the municipal activities only as provided by the federal legislature. In this respect, the municipal power should be restricted as much as possible leading to the lack of rights and freedoms of self-governance for cities and their inhabitants.

What is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA); how is it used?

A metropolitan statistical area is an area that is not governed in accordance with the municipal or federal rules because it is not referred to as a city or a state. This entity is usually centered on a large city and has strong ties and developed economical and industrial relations throughout the entity. Statistical purposes are the key reasons for using this entity definition for research and further measures introduced.