Research

This paper examines procurement lobbying as an example of Bachrach and Baratz' "second face of power," where firms influence not just decisions but the rules shaping those decisions through capture methodology. 

This paper synthesizes two models: Savitch and Kantor’s bargaining and the amenity led growth model. Using evidence from Oklahoma City’s recent revitalization, the argument concludes that leadership serves as a pivotal link between the bargaining table and the construction of new amenities to attract productive labor and improve their bargaining position. The proposed unified model reprises the role for leadership to include providing amenities prerequisite for economic development.

This dissertation examines the role of external experts in local agenda setting. The study conducts on archival research on three components of Oklahoma City’s Metropolitan Area Projects programs, specifically education, indoor arenas, and convention centers. The decline in local leadership (especially urban regimes), an increased demand for complex amenities, and the emergence of a trans-urban policy network provide outside actors with agenda setting power. Evidence suggests that agenda setting for urban revitalization has shifted from “inside-out” to an “outside-in” model since the 1980s. Formerly urban leaders would request assistance for specific tactics aimed at urban revitalization; contemporary urban leaders articulate larger objectives to consultants but rely on advice to determine specific programs. A constellation of advocacy coalitions fill niches within the city building policy network, but no central actor organizes their activity. Although urban leaders may rely on outside actors for agenda items, local leaders retain the ability to determine the physical distribution and interaction of infrastructure, which impacts the efficacy of urban revitalization projects.