Urban political economists observe that growth seeking dominates Canadian and U.S. local governance. Others believe Canada's collectivist culture exempts cities from the privatistic policies common in the United States. The authors argue that local constitutional regimes (the legal definition of cities, rules about private property, and federalism) best explain patterns of governance. Inducements shape urban development policy in both countries, but U.S. cities generally compete independently for growth, whereas provinces more often direct Canadian urban growth strategies. Provinces may reduce interlocal competition, but they may also move the locus of urban growth politics upward or stifle progressive initiatives.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alberta Municipal Affairs . 1988. Development incentives: The advantages and disadvantages of municipal financial and land use incentives. Edmonton: Author.
2.
Alvaro, A.1991. Why property rights were excluded from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadian Journal of Political Science24 (June): 309-329.
3.
Amborski, D.1988. Impact fees Canadian style: The use of development charges in Ontario. In Development impact fees, edited by A. Nelson, 52-63. Chicago: Planners Press.
4.
Andrew, C.1983. Ottawa-Hull. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 140-165. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
5.
Andrew, C.1994. Federal urban activity: Intergovernmental relations in an age of restraint. In The changing Canadian metropolis: A public policy perspective, edited by F. Frisken, 427-457. Berkeley and Toronto: Institute of Governmental Studies Press and Canadian Urban Institute.
6.
Artibise, A.F.J.1988. Canada as an urban nation. Daedalus117 (Fall): 237-264.
7.
Bettison, D. G.1975. The politics of Canadian urban development. Edmonton: Univ. of Alberta Press.
8.
Brigham, J.1987. The "giving issue": A view of land, property rights, and industrial development in Maine and Nova Scotia. In Land rites and wrongs: The management, regulation and use of land in Canada and the United States, edited by E. Feldman and M. Goldberg, 247-268. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land.
9.
Cameron, D. M. , and P. Aucoin. 1983. Halifax. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 166-188. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
10.
Canadian Tax Foundation . 1989. Provincial and municipal finances, 1989. Toronto: Author.
11.
Caulfield, J.1988. Canadian urban "reform" and local conditions: An alternative to Harris' "reinterpretation."International Journal of Urban and Regional Research12 (3): 477-483.
12.
Clark, G. L.1985. Judges and the cities: Interpreting local autonomy. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
13.
Clavel, P.1986. The progressive city. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.
14.
Coffey, W. J.1994. The evolution of Canada s metropolitan economies. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
15.
Cullingworth, J. B.1987. Urban and regional planning in Canada. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
16.
Dillon, J. F.1881. Commentaries on the law of municipal corporations, I. Boston: Little, Brown.
17.
Elkin, S. L.1987. City and regime in the American republic. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
18.
Elkins, D. , and R. Simeon. 1979. A cause in search of its effect, or what does political culture explain?Comparative Politics11 (January): 127-146.
19.
Feldman, E. , and M. Goldberg, eds. 1987. Land rites and wrongs: The management, regulation and use of land in Canada and the United States. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land.
20.
Feldman, E. J. , and J. Milch. 1983. The politics of Canadian airport development: Lessons for federalism. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press.
21.
Feldman, L. D. , and K. A. Graham. 1981. Intergovernmental relations and urban growth: A Canadian view. In Politics and government of urban Canada, 4th ed., edited by L. D. Feldman, 202-218. Toronto: Methuen.
22.
Filion, P.1987. Core redevelopment, neighbourhood revitalization and municipal government motivation: Twenty years of urban renewal in Quebec City. Canadan Journal of Political Science20 (March): 131-147.
23.
Fowler, R.1992. Building cities that work. Montrdal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press.
24.
Frisken, F.1986. Canadian cities and the American example: Aprologue tourban policy analysis. Canadan Public Administration29 (Fall): 345-376.
25.
Frisken, F.1988. City policy-making in theory and practice: The case of Toronto's downtown plan Local Government Case Studies, no. 3. London: Univ. of Western Ontario.
26.
Frug, G.1980. The city as a legal concept. Harvard Law Review93 (April): 1051-1054.
27.
Garber, J. A.1990. Law and the possibilities for a just urban political economy. Journal of Urban Affairs12 (1): 1-15.
28.
Goetz, E. G.1993. Shelter burden: Local politics and progressive housing policy. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press.
29.
Goldberg, M. A.1978. The BNA Act, NHA, CMHC, MSUA, etc.: "Nymophobia" and the on-going search for an appropriate Canadian housing and urban development policy. In Canadian confederation at the crossroads, edited by M. Walker, 320-361. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute.
30.
Goldberg, M. A.1987. Evaluating urban land use and development. In Land rites and wrongs: The management, regulation and use of land in Canada and the United States, edited by E. Feldman and M. Goldberg, 39-72. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land.
31.
Goldberg, M. A. , and J. Mercer. 1986. The myth of the North American city: Continentalism challenged. Vancouver: Univ. of British Columbia Press.
32.
Goldsmith, M.1987. The status of local government: A consideration of the political position of cities in Britain, Canada, and the United States. In Constitutional regimes and the city: The U.S., Canada andBritain, edited by H. J. Pratt, C. D. Elder, and H. L. Wolman, 12-15. Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, Detroit.
33.
Harris, R.1987. A social movement in urban politics: A reinterpretation of urban reform in Canada. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research11 (3): 363-381.
34.
Harris, R.1988. Are interpretation of Canadian urban reform: A reply to Caulfield. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research12 (3): 485-489.
35.
Hartog, H.1983. Public property and private power: The corporation of the city of New York in American law, 1730-1870. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press.
36.
Hulchanski, J. D.1984. St. Lawrence and False Creek: A review of planning and development of two inner city neighborhoods. Vancouver: Univ. of British Columbia Press.
37.
Hulchanski, J. D.1988. The evolution of property rights and housing tenure in postwar Canada: Implications for housing policy. Urban Law and Policy9:135-156.
38.
Imbroscio, D. L. 1994. Municipal enterprise and the urban political economy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, New York, September.
39.
Isin, E.1992a. Canadian federalism and cities: A colonial legacy. In Political arrangements: Power and the city, edited by H. Lustiger-Thaler, 39-68. Montr6al: Black Rose Books.
40.
Isin, E.1992b. Cities without citizens: The modernity of the city as a corporation. Montreal: Black Rose Books.
41.
Judd, D. , and T. Swanstrom. 1994. City politics: Private power and public policy. New York: HarperCollins.
42.
Keating, M.1991. Comparative urban politics: Powerand the city in the United States, Canada, Britain and France. Aldershot, UK: Edward Elgar.
43.
Keating, M. , and A. Mehrhoff. 1992. Canadian provincial and US state roles in urban planning and development: A study of London, Ontario, and St. Cloud, MinnesotaEnvironment and Planning C10 (May): 173-187.
44.
Kiernan, M. , and D. C. Walker. 1983. Winnipeg. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 222-254. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
45.
Kulisek, L. , and T. Price. 1988. Ontario municipal policy affecting local autonomy: A case study involving Windsor and Ontario. Urban History Review16 (February): 255-270.
46.
Laux, F. J.1987. Municipal bonuses and tax exemptions to entice private developments. Alberta Law Review25 (2): 224-248.
47.
Leo, C.1994. The urban economy and the power of the local state: The politics of planning in Edmonton and Vancouver. In The changing Canadian metropolis: A public policy perspective, edited by F. Frisken, 657-698. Berkeley and Toronto: Institute of Governmental Studies Press and Canadian Urban Institute.
48.
Leo, C. , and R. Fenton. 1990. "Mediated enforcement" and the evolution of the state: Development corporations in Canadian city centres. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research14 (June): 185-206.
49.
Lveillee, J. , and R. Whelan. 1990. Montreal: The struggle to become a "world city." In Leadership and urban regeneration: Cities in North America and Europe, edited by D. Judd and M. Parkinson, 152-170. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
50.
Lewis, T. J. , and R. A. Muller. 1992. Contracting out rent control. Canadian Journal of Political Science25 (September): 557-572.
51.
Ley, D.1994. Social polarisation and community response: Contesting marginality in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. In The changing Canadian metropolis: A public policy perspective, edited by F. Frisken, 699-723. Berkeley and Toronto: Institute of Governmental Studies Press and Canadian Urban Institute.
52.
Lightbody, J.1983. Edmonton. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 255-290. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
53.
Lipset, S. M.1990. Continental divide: The values and institutions of the United States and Canada. New York: Routledge.
54.
Logan, J. , and H. Molotch. 1987. Urban fortunes: The political economy of place. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
55.
Lorimer, J.1972. A citizens guide to city politics. Toronto: Lorimer.
56.
Macdonald, J.1991. City and province rank as dominant downtown landowners. Edmonton Journal, 11 May, D1.
57.
Magnusson, W.1983. Introduction: The development of Canadian urban government. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 3-57. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
58.
Magnusson, W.1987. Statism and the closure of urban politics: Canada, Britain, and the U.S A. In Constitutional regimes and the city: The U.S., Canada and Britain, edited by H. J. Pratt, C. D. Elder, and H. L. Wolman, 19-34. Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, Detroit.
59.
Magnusson, W.1990a. Progressive politics and Canadian cities. In Challenges to local government, edited by D. King and J. Pierre, 173-194. London: Sage.
60.
Magnusson, W.1990b. Regeneration and the quality of life in Vancouver. In Leadership and urban regeneration: Cities in North America and Europe, edited by D. Judd and M. Parkinson, 171-187. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
61.
Makuch, S. M.1983. Canadian municipal and planning law. Toronto: Carswell.
62.
Masson, J. , with E. C. LeSage, Jr.1994. Alberta's local governments: Politics and democracy. Edmonton: Univ. of Alberta Press.
63.
Mier, R.1993. Social justice and local development policy. Newbury Park, CA: Sage,
64.
Nowlan, D.1994. Local taxation as an instrument of policy. In The changing Canadian metropolis: A public policy perspective, edited by F. Frisken, 799-841. Berkeley and Toronto: Institute of Governmental Studies Press and Canadian Urban Institute.
65.
Ostrom, V. , R. Bish, and E. Ostrom. 1988. Local government in the United States. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies Press.
66.
Pratt, H. J.1987. Introduction toConstitutional regimes and the city: The U.S., Canada and Britain, edited by H. J. Pratt, C. D. Elder, and H. L. Wolman, i-vii. Department of Political Science, Wayne State University, Detroit.
67.
Quesnel, L.1990. Political control over planning in Quebec. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research14 (March): 25-48.
68.
Quesnel-Ouellet, L. , and G. Bouchard. 1981. Urban transportation: Politics of a policy. In Politics and government ofurban Canada, 4thed., edited by L. D. Feldman, 219-245. Toronto: Methuen.
69.
Reese, L. A.1992. Economic development strategies in Ontario: A comparative perspective. American Review of Canadian Studies22 (Summer): 215-233.
70.
Robinson, I.1986. Some major differences in the Canadian and American planning approaches to selected urban issues affecting central cities in their respective countries. Planning Perspectives1:231-256.
71.
Rogers, I. M.1971. The law of Canadian municipal corporations. 2d ed., Vol. 1. Toronto: Carswell.
72.
Roy, J.-H. , and B. Weston, eds. 1990. Montreal: A citizen W guide to city politics. Montrial: Black Rose Books.
73.
Sancton, A.1983. Conclusion: Canadian city politics in comparative perspective. In City politics in Canada, edited by W. Magnusson and A. Sancton, 291-317. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.
74.
Sancton, A.1992. Canada as a highly urbanized nation: New implications for government. Canadian Public Administration35 (Autumn): 281-298.
75.
Sancton, A.1994. Governing Canada's city-regions: Adapting form to function. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
76.
Sancton, A. , and B. Montgomery. 1994. Municipal government and residential land development: A comparative study of London, Ontario, in the 1920s and 1980s. In The changing Canadian metropolis: A public policy perspective, edited by F. Frisken, 777-798. Berkeley and Toronto: Institute of Governmental Studies Press and Canadian Urban Institute.
77.
Slack, E. , and R. Bird. 1991. Financing urban growth through development charges. Canadian Tax Joumal39 (December): 1288-1304.
78.
Stone, C. N.1989. Regime politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946-1988. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
79.
Swanstrom, T.1985. The crisis of growth politics: Cleveland Kucinich, and the challenge of urban populism. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press.
80.
Taylor, J.1984. Urban autonomy in Canada: Its evolution and decline. In Power and place: Canadian urban development in the North American context, edited by G. Stelter and A.F.J. Artibise, 269-291. Vancouver: Univ. of British Columbia Press.
81.
Turner, R. S. , and J. A. Garber. 1994. Responding to boom and bust: Urban political economy in Houston and Edmonton. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, New York, September.
82.
Vicari, S. , and H. Molotch. 1990. Building Milan: Alternative machines of growth. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research14 (December): 602-624.
83.
Whelan, R. K.1991. The politics of urban development in Montreal: Regime change from Drapeau to Dor6. Quibec Studies12 (Spring/Summer): 155-169.
84.
Whitson, D. , and D. Macintosh. 1993. Becoming a world-class city: Hallmark events and sport franchises in the growth strategies of western Canadian cities. Sociology of Sport Journal10:221-240.
85.
Williams, T. 1990. Constructing conformity: An anatomy of city powers. Paper presented at the conference on The Changing Canadian Metropolis, North York, Ontario, October.
86.
Woodside, K.1989. An approach to studying local government autonomy: The Ontario experience. Canadian Public Administration33 (Summer): 198-213.
