The Fractured Metropolis: Political Fragmentation and Metropolitan Segregation (New Inequalities)

How political boundaries shape residential segregation and fracture America's metropolitan communities.

Political boundaries do more than define the limits of cities and suburbs, they shape where people live, whom they live among, and how metropolitan communities become divided.

In The Fractured Metropolis, Gregory R. Weiher develops an information-based theory of metropolitan fragmentation to explain how political institutions and jurisdictional boundaries influence patterns of residential segregation. Drawing on urban politics, political behavior, and theories of population sorting, Weiher demonstrates how individual preferences, information, and boundary configurations interact to produce persistent patterns of racial and social separation.

Through theoretical analysis and a detailed case study of Richmond Heights, Missouri, Weiher reveals the often-overlooked political forces behind metropolitan segregation. His innovative approach places political boundaries at the center of the explanation for urban fragmentation, offering a compelling new perspective on the relationship between local government, residential choice, and the structure of American metropolitan areas.

The Fractured Metropolis provides an original and important contribution to the study of urban politics, metropolitan governance, and residential segregation.

Gregory R. Weiher is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston.