The Micro-Relations of Urban Governance: Patronage and Partnership

Abstract

The classic urban ecological paradigm envisioned the articulation of the social organization of neighborhoods with that of the city as a whole. This article offers novel empirical evidence in support of this proposition. We analyze the microrelations of governance across two key urban domains, politics and nonprofit organizations, and identify the district-based politician as a key actor linking neighborhood-based and citywide forms of social organization. Using data of contracts allocated by city council members to nonprofits in New York City, analysis of the social network system linking these two types of actors shows two distinct relational dynamics: a patronage dynamic characterized by exclusive and long-lasting relationships between a council member and his/her local constituency and a partnership dynamic characterized by citywide relationships that are short-lived and fostered by organizational differentiation and embeddedness. Furthermore, politicians and nonprofits differently accommodate the copresence of these two models of resource allocation.

Cite

@article{marwell2020micro,
  author = {Marwell, Nicole P. and Marantz, Erez Aharon and Baldassarri, Delia},
  title = {The Micro-Relations of Urban Governance: Patronage and Partnership},
  journal = {American Journal of Sociology},
  year = {2020},
  doi = {10.1086/709250}
}