Black Urban Regime

Abstract

The term “black urban regime” (BUR) is used to describe a city that has a majority black population and is led by a black mayor and a majority black city council. BURs have two key components: a governing coalition comprised of black mayors and city council members, influential professionals from the black middle class, and white corporate elites; and an electoral coalition comprised largely of black working‐class voters (Reed, 1988; Arena, 2011). BUR theory poses several questions: What political, social, and economic circumstances led to the establishment of BURs? What unique constraints do black leaders face after coming to power? And finally, why do BURs deviate from their stated campaign goals of more equitable resource distribution, and instead focus on a procorporate agenda of urban governance?