1995 Reports

Big-City Governments

O'Flaherty, Brendan Andrew

Big-city governments are a fact of American life. Over 7.3 million people live in the 309 square miles in which New York City's government provides municipal services, and in 1989 74% of American employment in the fur goods industry, 35% of the American employment of securities brokers and dealers, and 22% of the American employment of entertainers took place within these boundaries [Vilain, 1991]. Even the 25th largest city in 1992, Austin TX, had 492,000 people in an area of 218 square miles. A political history of twentieth century America without, for instance, John Purroy Mitchell, Fiorello LaGuardia, Frank Hague, Anton Cermak , the Richard Daley's, and Carl Stokes would be seriously incomplete.