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The Changing Structure of American Cities: A Study of the Diffusion of Innovation
Author(s) -
Frederickson H. George,
Johnson Gary Alan,
Wood Curtis
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00376.x
Subject(s) - representativeness heuristic , politics , public administration , schema (genetic algorithms) , local government , political science , city management , regional science , sociology , law , mathematics , statistics , computer science , machine learning
Using historical and numerical analysis and the five‐part schema, this study finds that over the past 50 years structural modifications and adaptations by American cities have generally followed the standard S curve of the diffusion of innovation. In tests of Kaufman's and Hirshman's theories of epochs of change from representativeness to administrative efficiency, this study determines that mayor‐council cities have, in a standard innovation diffusion S curve, adopted many of the key features of council‐manager cities, increasing their administrative efficiency. At the same time, council‐manager cities, again in an S curve, have adopted many of the key features of mayor‐council cities, increasing their political responsiveness. Fewer cities are now either distinctly mayor‐council or council‐manager in form, and most cities are structurally less distinct, constituting a newly merged or hybrid model of local government—the type III city.