Extract from the introduction:
Welcome to the first virtual issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs. The purpose of the virtual issues is to broaden the visibility of and access to the most cited and downloaded articles from recent issues of the JUA. This virtual issue highlights cutting edge research on governing global cities. The five articles highlighted in this issue deal with urban governance in a comparative context from both the macro and micro levels. As a group they emphasize the importance of intergovernmental actions and relationships, citizen preferences, market forces, and governmental competition on local governance regimes and instructional arrangements. They thus remind urban scholars that while “all politics may be local” the theoretical and practical aspects of governing cities are inherently defined by other, often external and even global forces. They also illustrate how scales and governance issues play out in cities around the world.
