Civic Culture, Sub-cultures, Non-traditionalism and Progressive Policy

Abstract

Even as some observers criticise its insularity and excessive dependence on political economy approaches, urban politics research has recently witnessed a profusion of studies employing cultural methods. This paper will review how researchers have used cultural methods in explaining political outcomes. It will argue that, in the US context, a sub-cultural model based on a traditionalism/non-traditionalism dichotomy offers greater potential than other approaches to account effectively for progressive strategies which seem illogical within a political economy framework. Finally, it explains how growing non-traditionalism and the global economy jointly explain the increasing acceptability of progressive development among both urban residents and corporate interests in US post-industrial cities. The paper illustrates these claims by applying this framework to development outcomes in Seattle and Las Vegas.(2007) complain of a lack of intellectual tolerance and an inability to distinguish between impartial scholarship on urban conditions and advocacy on behalf of saving the cities. In addition, a certain rigidity and intellectual stagnation in the process of theoretical development, apparent in its bias towards economic determinism,

A Strategic Political-Culture Basis for Developing the Socioeconomic Welfare of Disadvantaged Urban Communities: General Review and Policy Framework

“…The rising trend of culture-based studies is clearly reflected in the urban subfield (Putnam, 1993(Putnam, , 2000Fukuyama, 2000, Bockmeyer, 2000, Middleton et al, 2005, Easterly et al, 2006, Logan & Molotch, 2007, Andrews, 2009, Quentin et al, 2010, Rosdill, 2010& 2011, Grodach, 2012& Buchbinder et al, 2015. These studies share the common argument that the best way to understand local economy is by observing the political culture of urban communities that embody those abstract resources that translate into economic values (e.g., exchange value, potential growth, employment structure, poverty, etc.…”

Managing a Policy Experiment

“…Broadly, culture can be thought of as a way of life-the set of beliefs, values, common practices, and customs shared by a group of people. Since cultural expectations dictate acceptable behaviors, cultural explanations for policies posit that more widely accepted cultural practices of a community will, in turn, impact local political and policy issues (Rosdil 2011;Sharp 2002Sharp , 2005. Rosdil (2011) notes two interrelated aspects of culture that are of particular importance to the study of morality policies-cultural change and diversification and the development of nontraditional subcultures.…”

“…and assume a number of forms (Rosdil 2011). Cities that have large, wellestablished countercultures often create an unconventional culture, while cities without such subcultures tend to be more conventional.…”