Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide

Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide

On Friday, December 6th, the Initiative on Cities hosted a book talk with Jonathan Rodden to discuss his book, Why Cities Lose, which explores how the Democratic Party’s electoral challenges have deeper roots in economic and political geography.

Jonathan Rodden is a professor of political science and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and founder and director of the Stanford Spatial Science Social Lab. He is also the author of the award-winning book, Hamilton’s Paradox: The Promise and Peril of Fiscal Federalism. He has been researching the correlation between voting behavior and population density and compiling this book for over 10 years.

In his book,  he argues that urban interests are systemically underrepresented in state legislatures and in Congress: with Democrats clustered in cities, Republicans often win legislative majorities despite losing the overall popular vote. The reasons why cities lose are therefore often the reasons why the Left loses too.

Read the full recap here.