Power Structure and Decision Making in City Planning

Abstract

O NE fundamental aspect of the American political system is that persons who have not been elected or appointed to public office nonetheless exercise decision making influence and power on matters public in nature. To mobilize activity for a public purpose an elaborate system of influence must be created. The right people must be persuaded to the course of action proposed. Any on-going social system or human organization is a complex network of influence lines. Recent, and not so recent, studies by Hunter, Rossi, Sayre and Kaufman, Dahl, Martin et al., and Banfield, to mention only a few, have sought to trace these lines and identify their respective points of contact. A common assumption in the literature is that there exists a hierarchy of leadership in every community which could, if only it would, make decisions affecting public policy. In turn, this policy would be translated into action programs by elective officials and their professional staff. Some have seen this aristocratic leadership as a conspiracy of the rich seeking to undermine democratic institutions. Generally, however, leadership by economic and social elites is viewed by the citizen as statesmanlike activity-civic mindedness is an often used euphemism-essentially desirable. The business community sees itself in this image and is often filled with self-reproach for failing its duty. There seems to be some comfort in the belief that there exists an omnipotent they, omniscient enough to solve the complexities