Domonic A. Bearfield

Can You Find It on the Web? An Assessment of Municipal E-Government Transparency

Despite the potential of open government, earlier research has found that local governments vary significantly in their embrace of transparency. In this article, we explore the variability question through the innovative application of an alternative set of transparency indicators. We find that cities are more likely to make information about finance and budgeting and general administration accessible to the public, less likely to place information related to human resources online. We use the literature to derive a model to test five types of promising explanations for a city’s propensity for transparency. Our analysis suggests that community demand and a city’s organizational networks play an important role in fostering transparency, regardless of city size. Important differences do exist between large and small cities: Transparency in larger cities is spurred by political competition; in smaller cities, governmental resources and administrative professionalism influence transparency.

The Demonization of Patronage: Folk Devils, Moral Panics and the Boston Globe's Coverage of the Terrorist Attacks of 9-11

Abstract The demonization of patronage during the Progressive Era is still having significant impacts on American public administration as demonstrated in the case of the controversies surrounding the operations of Logan Airport in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Applying the theory of “moral panics,” this article examines the use of patronage as a “folk devil” by the Boston-region media. The analysis discusses of the implications of unchallenged demonized concepts and the need for a more analytic approach to the study of patronage.

It’s Been a Long Time Comin’ An Examination of Public Personnel Research in PAR and ROPPA in Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

This article provides a decade by decade examination of major themes in the public personnel literature as published in two leading journals: Public Administration Review and Review of Public Personnel Administration. The article also highlights research addressing issues related to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Smarter Shrinkage: a Neighborhood-Scaled Rightsizing Strategy Based on Land Use Dynamics

Despite global projections of increasingly concentrated urban population growth, many cities still suffer from severe depopulation (or shrinkage), which results in increased vacant land/structural abandonment. As a consequence, shrinking urban areas are now seeking ways to more intelligently inventory and manage declining neighborhoods. Smart Shrinkage, a means of planning for fewer people and less development, has become a popular approach to managing depopulation. This research explores current approaches to managing vacant urban land through case evaluations approach, using findings to inform an applied Smart Shrinkage strategy for repurposing vacant lots. Land use prediction modeling is integrated into the process using Dayton, Ohio, USA, as an application site. A GIS-based development suitability model was used to identify pockets of future nodal development, and the land transformation model (LTM) was used to predict areas of future decline. Typologies of vacant/abandoned lots were then developed based on spatial characteristics of each parcel. The result of the process is a framework for executing Smarter Shrinkage—a community-scaled approach integrating land use prediction modeling into the process for managing vacant lots. Findings suggest that forecasts from the LTM require policy mechanisms to be put into place that will allow land to be transformed for nonresidential uses that are consistent with where demand exists. Smarter Shrinkage approaches should emphasize the implementation of newly proposed development only within nodes of high development potential and should utilize temporary or green infrastructure-based functions in areas predicted to become vacant or with low development potential.

ALL MEGA-PROJECTS ARE LOCAL? CITIZEN PARTICIPATION LESSONS FROM THE BIG DIG

This paper examines the impact of managerial philosophy on public participation. Specifically the paper explores the historical development of Boston’s Central Artery/Tunnel project, more commonly known as the Big Dig, with a particular focus on how the two men most closely associated with the conception and construction of the project approached this type of administrative reform. This paper uses the concept single and double loop learning to illuminate how each manager attempted to implement this reform.