Book Reviews : The State of the Cities. Report of the Commission on the Cities in the '70's, FRED R. HARRIS and JOHN V. LINDSAY, Cochairmen. (New York: Praeger Pub lishers, 1972. Pp. xiv, 114. $4.95.) Governing Urban America in the 1970's. Edited by WERNER Z. HIRSCH and SID NEY SONENBLUM. (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973. Pp. xv, 203. $15.00.)
| Author | Jean Bickmore White |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297402700119 |
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
193
sources
to
expand
its
services.
Here
then
is
the
low
yield,
low
political
cost
system
that
Oakland
officials
have
chosen
because
they
feel
they
have
limited
options.
Toward
the
end
of
the
book
Meltsner
looks
at
two
revenue
aspects
which
are
important
to
the
revenue
process.
First,
that
the
budget
is
no
longer
used
to
allo-
cate
resources
but
is
used
as
a
control
device
for
the
city
manager.
Second,
it
is
used
as
a
communication
device
for
departments.
The
city
bureaucracy
is
com-
posed
of
budget
spenders
(department)
and
budget
cutters
(manager
and
finan-
cial
staff).
Both
have
adopted
the
no
money
premise
and
it
has
been
a
source
of
disjunction
in
the
budgetary
process.
The
spenders
ignore
revenue
limitations
in
an
effort
to
communicate
the
needs
of
their
organizations.
At
the
same
time
the
mana-
ger
ignores
the
implications
of
service
and
program
budget
cuts.
The
final
section
of
the
book
looks
at
the
public
to
find
how
hostile
or
sup-
portive
it
is,
and
policy
options
open
to
local
officials.
It
was
found
that
group
leaders
existed
who
were
not
aware
of
the
social,
financial,
and
economic
problems
which
faced
the
city.
The
education
of
these
unaware
leaders
can
be
accomplished
if
officials
will
provide
the
political
leadership
so
adequate
resources
can
be
estab-
lished
to
deal
with
increasing
problems.
This
political
leadership
will
walk
a
thin
line
between
taxpayer
revolt
and
a
poor
peoples’
riot
so
that
local
institutions
can
be
responsive
to
the
needs
of
its
citizens.
University
of
Wisconsin,
Whitewater
YEARN
H.
CHOI
The
State
of
the
Cities.
Report
of
the
Commission
on
the
Cities
in
the
’70’s,
FRED
R.
HARRIS
and
JOHN
V.
LINDSAY,
Cochairmen.
(New
York:
Praeger
Pub-
lishers,
1972.
Pp. xiv, 114.
$4.95.)
Governing
Urban
America
in
the
1970’s.
Edited
by
WERNER
Z.
HIRSCH
and
SID-
NEY
SONENBLUM.
(New
York:
Praeger
Publishers,
1973.
Pp.
xv,
203.
$15.00.)
Although
these
slender
volumes
are
not
as
much
alike
as
their
titles
would
imply,
they
both
reflect
a
deep
concern
with
the
adequacy
of
our
governmental
institutions
and
express
a
conviction
that
both
attitudes
and
institutions
must
change
to
meet
the
problems
of
an
urbanized
America.
The
State
of
the
Cities
is
an
attempt
to
assess
the
progress
made
in
solving
the
problems
of
poverty,
education,
housing,
and
crime
in
the
cities
since
the
National
Advisory
Commission
on
Civil
Disorders
(the
Kerner
Commission)
issued
its
report
in
1968.
It
is
the
report
of
the
private
twelve-member
Commission
on
the
Cities
in
the
’70’s,
organized
by
the
National
Urban
Coalition
and
chaired
by
Oklahoma
Senator
Fred
R.
Harris
and
New
York
City
Mayor
John
V.
Lindsay.
After
visiting
four
cities
(Atlanta,
Detroit,
Los
Angeles,
and
Phoenix)
in
1971
1
and
receiving
reports
from
staff
members
who
visited
two
additional
cities
(Newark
and
El
Paso)
the
Commission
concluded
that
most
of
the
changes
in
the
cities
visited
had
been
for
the
worse.
Acute
problems
of
poverty,
education,
housing,
and
crime
still
existed.
They
also
found
a
continuation
of
the
trend
noted
in
the
Kerner
Report
toward
splitting
the
country
into
&dquo;two
nations,
separate
and
unequal.&dquo;
Most
disturbing,
in
the
Commission’s
view,
was
the
growing
lack
of
faith
in
&dquo;the
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