Paradise Plundered

"Paradise Plundered is a must-read for urban scholars and an invaluable resource for political science and public affairs courses, as it enriches an urban governance literature that has a place in naive, simple-opposition, pluralist, and elite explanations of urban policy. It convincingly demonstrates how pluralist forces expressed through district election and restrictive fiscal institutions interact with elite development interests in the absence of a responsible civic sector or public officials committed to broader public interests. . . The study makes an undeniable contribution to both political science scholarship and policy practice by compellingly elaborating the forces that constrain effective urban governance."—Juliet Ann Musso, Political Science Quarterly
"San Diego may have been the only major city in the United States (8th largest in population) lacking a significant academic book analyzing its urban politics and governance. No more. With Paradise Plundered we now have a well researched and reasoned volume that fills that gap . . . Paradise Plundered's organization, clarity, and writing style makes it well suited not only for academics and graduate and undergraduate students, but also for practitioners and citizens interested in understanding how political power is exercised in American metropolitan areas."—Nico Calavita, Journal of Urban Affairs
"While making some comparisons with other California cities, the book is at its best when focusing on the politics and collusions used to wring private gain out of transaction alleged to be of public benefit. This is a cautionary tale that should be read by anyone concerned with governance, economic development, and business-government relationships in American cities. . . Highly recommended."—J. L. Mikesell, Choice
"It takes more than scenery to make a successful city—or a solvent state, for that matter. Chronicling the near-deliberate dismantlement of San Diego, Paradise Plundered relates how a favored city squandered its heritage and thereby set forth a warning to the rest of the nation." —Kevin Starr, University of Southern California
"Paradise Plundered provides a trenchant analysis of governance and public policy in San Diego over the past two decades. The authors show how weak public institutions and persistent anti-tax sentiment created a grossly underfunded pension system, massive structural deficits, and a balkanized city. San Diego's fall from grace offers a cautionary tale that is a must read for anyone who cares about effective urban government."—Margaret Weir, University of California, Berkeley
"A landmark expose of how fiscal populism provides camouflage for private greed in America's most badly governed big city. San Diego's celebrated 'public-private partnerships' are unmasked as Ponzi schemes on the road to municipal ruin."—Mike Davis, University of California, Riverside
"Paradise Plundered chronicles San Diego's decline from one of the nation's best governed cities to its current position as poster child for inept city management. Meticulously researched and convincingly argued, [it] is a cautionary tale for any community that demands good government but is unwilling to pay for it."—Joel Rast, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee