Downtown Declines Continued Post Consolidation
Here are some excerpts from the study. The overall conclusion is basically that no significant changes came from consolidation. The charts and graphs tell the story if you wish to spare yourself the academic language.
“Since the onset of merger, we cannot discern any unusual boost in per capita income, employment, numbers of business establishments, and the like.”
“Two years after merger, the question was asked of residents, “Would you say that, overall, the merger has made you better off or worse off?†Of respondents, 13.0% reported they were better off, 9.4% reported they were worse off, 8.6% indicated they “did not know,†and 69.1% reported they were about the same.”
“Economic promises that were integral to institutional change have not materialized. Nevertheless, elites acted as if the promised boom had occurred and, in fact, behaved as though the local economy had exceeded economic expectations.”
“At the airport visitors were greeted by the mayor’s ebullient voice welcoming them to America’s 16th largest city. He and other officials made the same claim at personal appearances and recorded programs. The U.S. Census Bureau saw matters differently, and its published listings show consolidated Louisville as the 27th largest city. In reality, the metropolitan areas remained the same. The only change that occurred was the circle around which the city defined itself.”
“What explains this pattern of behavior? At the simplest, we can say that politicians and business leaders do not like to acknowledge they may have been mistaken.”
“In the absence of being able to justify economic conditions, elites constructed their own justification with rhetorical remakes or an appeal to symbol. Rhetorical remakes were used to assemble results, treating merger as if its achievements were either a foregone conclusion or had already been attained.12 The rhetoric was so pervasive that any possibilities for a less than flattering result were quickly foreclosed.”
“the city fought so hard with the Census Bureau to be listed as the 16th largest city. The initial campaign promised voters that Louisville would attain 16th place. When it failed to win that appellation, the new government continued to advertise itself as the 16th largest city in America and lobbied the bureau to change its own ranking.”
“our study raises doubt that city–county consolidation can enhance local economic development. Thus far we see no evidence showing benefits for premerged Louisville, and some of the data suggest it is worse off.”
“These experiences teach us that values and local culture trump abstract expectations. Institutions are tools that can be used to make policy, but local culture shapes its content and direction. Any city considering merger should first examine where newly formed values lie, whether giving up central city autonomy is worth the return, and how enduring are the benefits to be derived.”
Here is a link to the 27 page study conducted by the University of Louisville on the tangible statistics of the 4 years before vs. the four years after Louisville voted in consolidated government.
Beyond the Rhetoric Louisville study
