The threat of bankruptcy may be a new source of competitive advantage in post-recession urban politics

While Detroit’s bankruptcy has received the most publicity, it was only one of many cities unable to pay their bills in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse. Mark Davidson explains how the landscape of urban politics has been redrawn in the wake of the Great Recession. He writes that the role of the state in municipal affairs has greatly expanded and that the threat of bankruptcy, once viewed as an exceptional measure, is now being used as gainful method of reducing public pension obligations and solving deficit problems.