POLITICAL SCIENCE AND URBANISM IN EUROPE: SOME LESSONS FROM THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

ABSTRACT The main research emphases of American political science research on urban politics are outlined, and it is concluded that many American conceptual frameworks have been determined by American political culture and by the nature of urban development in the U.S. This research has only limited utility for Europeans because in many important respects European urban development is distinctive, and because where North American and European urbanism do have similarities, American political science studies have generally not generated theories which are useful for guiding comparative research.