Description
Book SynopsisThis stimulating text considers questions of influence and power within local institutions and decision-making processes using numerous illustrations from municipalities across Canada.
Trade ReviewBy asking the question, ‘are we governing ourselves?’, McAllister delves into theses muddy waters in an admirably honest manner ... McAllister’s book is a useful teaching and scholarly resource for grappling with the democratic and administrative uncertainty that remains a large dimension of Canada’s public sector. -- Jeffery Roy, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University * Local Government Studies, vol. 32, no. 4, Autumn 2004 *
Highly recommended. -- A.F. Johnson, Bishop’s University * Choice, June 2005 *
Table of ContentsTables, Figures, and Boxes
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Local Democracy, a Contested Notion
1 Local Self-Government: Perspectives on Democracy
2 Local Democracy and Self-Government: The Historical Legacy
3 Avenues of Participation in Local Governance
Part 2: Shifting Responsibilities: Intergovernmental Relations
4 The Evolution of Provincial-Local Relations and Municipal Government
5 Municipal Restructuring
6 Contemporary Intergovernmental Relations
Part 3: The Politics of Space, Place, and Ecosystems
7 Core and Peripheries to Networked Societies
8 The Politics of Urban Planning
9 Environmental Challenges: Redefining the Public Interest
Part 4: The Business of Local Administration and Policy
10 Local Public Administration
11 Business, Management, and the Municipal Corporation
Part 5: Surfing into the Twenty-First Century: Local Political Communications
12 Local Channels of Information
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Photography Credits
Index
