This Urban Agenda, the 6th in a series, was issued by Andrew Cuomo during his successful campaign for Governor of New York in 2010. Cuomo¿s ambitious agenda addresses the chronic problems of underserved communities and people. These policies include initiatives for affordable housing and community development; combating poverty through education and workforce training; expanding access to quality health care; making streets safe by stopping the flow of illegal drugs and reforming adult re-entry and juvenile justice systems; and ensuring that minority and women-backed businesses have a fair chance to compete. This is a print on demand report.

This book provides in-depth comparative studies of the two largest cities and metropolitan areas in the United States: New York City and Los Angeles. The chapters, written by leading experts and based upon the most current information available from the Census and other sources, discuss and explicitly compare politics, economic prospects and the financial crisis, and a host of social issues. Reform movements in education, ethnic politics, budget stringency, strategies to deal with crime, the development and political context of infrastructure, rising inequality, immigration and immigrant communities, the segregation of the poor and minorities and the new segregation of the economic elite, environmental impacts and attempts to deal with them, the image of both cities and regions in the movies, architectural trends, and the differential impact and response to the financial crisis, including foreclosure patterns, are all examined in this volume. This comparative framework reveals that old paradigms such as urban "decline" or "resurgence" are inadequate for grasping the new challenges and complexities facing America's two major global cities. Each is responding in sometimes similar and different ways to the challenges brought on by two events that defined the last decade: the attack of 9/11 and its aftermath, and the continuing effects of the financial crisis. How all of these events, institutions, and trends play out in the New York and Los Angeles regions is important not only for the two cities, but also as a harbinger for other U.S. cities, the entire nation, and cities worldwide. New York and Los Angeles provides an essential guide for understanding the many forces that determine the future of our cities.

Cuomo's Commission on Competitiveness argues that America must reform its economic and social policies and institutions to reverse the weakening of its industrial leadership, the erosion of living standards and escalating social problems. Topics include public investment, urban poverty, health care, the environment, fiscal policy and international strategies.

Organizations such as the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth are familiar to anyone with an interest in environmental protection. As activist groups, they played by the same rules for years. But in 1994, the rules changed. With the Republican takeover of Congress, environmental groups faced sweeping changes in federal policies that threatened the enforcement of environmental laws. As these organizations intensified their efforts to meet these challenges, they also altered their electoral strategies and political spending patterns. This book traces those actions and shows what they mean for the future of environmentalism in the political arena. While environmental advocacy groups have become bigger and better funded in recent years, so have the corporate interests that compete with them for the attention of public and politicians. The Green Agenda in American Politics offers a new look at environmental advocacy that focuses on contemporary lobbying, electioneering, and agenda setting in this new context. Drawing on interviews with activists from a wide range of organizations, Robert Duffy describes what environmental groups actually do when lobbying officials or the public. He examines activity at both national and state levels to emphasize their growing use of websites, email, and action alert networks to conduct more sophisticated grassroots campaigns, and he shows how they are devoting more funds to unregulated forms of spending such as independent expenditure, issue advocacy advertising, and public education campaigns. Duffy also tracks emerging trends in interest group politics and provides an overview of activism through the early 1990s. He then documents the emergence of more aggressive action after 1994, such as providing campaign services to candidates and mounting voter registration drives. He also shows how state and local groups have begun to play more important roles in the wake of the rollback of federal environmental regulations. Brimming with new insights into interest group lobbies in general and contemporary environmental groups in particular, Duffy's book opens a new window on the influence of Big Money in the supposedly democratic electoral process.

Global Gender Issues in the New Millennium argues that the power of gender works to help keep gender, race, class, sexual, and national divisions in place despite increasing attention to gender issues in the study and practice of world politics. Accessible and student-friendly for both undergraduate and graduate courses, authors Anne Sisson Runyan and V. Spike Peterson analyze gendered divisions of power and resources that contribute to the worldwide crises of representation, violence, and sustainability. They emphasize how hard-won attention to gender equality in world affairs can be co-opted when gender is used to justify or mystify unjust forms of global governance, international security, and global political economy. In the new and updated fourth edition, Runyan and Peterson examine the challenges of forging transnational solidarities to de-gender world politics, scholarship, and practice through renewed politics for greater representation and redistribution. Yet they see promise in coalitional struggles to re-radicalize feminist world political demands to change the downward conditions of women, men, children, and the planet. Updated to include framing questions at the opening of each chapter, discussion questions and exercises at the end of each chapter, and updated data on gender statistics and policymaking. Chapters One and Two have also been revised to provide more support to readers with less of a background in gender politics. Case studies and web resources are now also provided.

What impact do news and political advertising have on us? How do candidates use media to persuade us as voters? Are we informed adequately about political issues? Do twenty-first-century political communications measure up to democratic ideals? The Dynamics of Political Communication: Media and Politics in a Digital Age, Second Edition explores these issues and guides us through current political communication theories and beliefs by detailing the fluid landscape of political communication and offering us an engaging introduction to the field and a thorough tour of the discipline. Author Richard Perloff examines essential concepts in this arena, such as agenda-setting, agenda-building, framing, political socialization, and issues of bias that are part of campaign news. Designed to provide an understanding and appreciation of the principles involved in political communication along with methods of research and hypothesis-testing, each chapter includes materials that challenge us by encouraging reflection on controversial matters. Inside this Second Edition you’ll find: Expanded discussion of conceptual problems, communication complexities, and key issues in the field. New examples, concepts, and studies reflecting current political communication scholarship. The integration of technology throughout the text, reflecting its pervasive role in the political spectrum. Accompanied by an updated companion website with resources for students and instructors, The Dynamics of Political Communication prepares you to survey the political landscape with a more critical eye, and encourages a greater understanding of the challenges and occurrences presented in this constantly evolving field.

A comprehensive exploration of racial inequality in New York City since 1965. In the past, the study of racial inequality in New York City has usually had a narrow focus, examining particular social problems affecting ethnic-racial groups. In contrast, this book provides a comprehensive overview of racial inequality in the city’s economy, housing, and education sectors over the last half-century. A collection of original essays by some of New York’s most well-known and emerging urban experts, Racial Inequality in New York City since 1965 explores what city government has done and failed to do to address racial inequality. It examines the changes in circumstances of Asian, Latino, West Indian, and African American New Yorkers, outlining how theirs have either improved or deteriorated relative to their white counterparts. The contributors also analyze how practices and policies in policing, public housing, public health, and community services have maintained racial inequality and discuss how political participation can increase social capital among city residents in order to reduce racial inequality. The book concludes by offering a compendium of practical recommendations and actions that can be implemented to address racial inequality in the city. “This book provides a broad and up-to-date survey of social and demographic trends in New York City. Unlike many other works, it crosses policy arenas and is not shy in advocating community action.” — J. Phillip Thompson, New York City Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives

This concise introduction to evidence-based social work is a student-friendly overview of the issues and methods most frequently encountered while preparing for evidence-based social work practice. Part I defines terms and critical issues, introducing students to the language and importance of evidence-based practice and critical thinking. Chapters will explain how to search for and evaluate evidence, how to ask the right questions, how to develop standards, and how to make use of the best research. Part II illustrates practical applications, including such topics as cognitive-behavioral approaches to suicide risks, manualized treatment with children, treating juvenile delinquents, and interventions for OCD, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, PTSD, depression, and recovery. This much-needed overview familiarizes students with the process and practice of evidence-based social work, teaching them to be critical thinkers and judicious decision-makers. The guidelines it distills are equally valuable to seasoned practitioners seeking to better serve their clients, making this an excellent foundation for the study and practice of evidence-based social work.