The report, People and Politics in America's Big Cities: The Challenges to Urban Democracy, was written by urban politics experts John Mollenkopf, director of the CUNY Center for Urban Research, and John Logan, director of the Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research. It was commissioned for a conference sponsored by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy with The Century Foundation, Metropolitan College of New York, the CUNY Center for Urban Research, and the Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research.

People and Politics in America's Big Cities uses New York and Los Angeles as case studies for a critical investigation into the impact the great changes underway in our nation's largest cities are having on our politics and public policy. Together, New York and Los Angeles are home to two-fifths of the immigrants in America. The study traces political succession in these cities as they have changed from black and white to multiethnic communities. It analyzes the 2001 mayoral and city council elections in these cities to determine the political consequences of these demographic changes and to draw conclusions about significance of the 'representation gap' for the function of urban democracy and the future of these cities.

The report is replete with tables and maps that provide racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic data for New York neighborhoods. It also provides information about voting patterns of various racial and ethnic groups in New York and Los Angeles. Specific findings of the study include:

• Latinos and Asians are increasingly prominent in cities where racial diversity used to be understood in terms of black and white. This is not only having an impact on political competition but also on governance, service delivery, and, potentially, the image and economic fortunes of cities.
• Whites hold political office in both cities at far higher rates than their populations share and African Americans hold offices at about parity with their population or a little more. However, Latinos and Asians hold much less representation than their population share.
• There is a 20-year 'representation gap' for Latinos and Asians in New York and Los Angeles. The current level of representation of these groups matches their much smaller population share twenty years ago.
• While New York and Los Angeles are diverse cities, segregation levels between whites and blacks, Latinos and Asians are significantly above the national average, especially in New York.
• The increased diversity in the two cities led by new immigrant groups has complicated the process of constructing multi-ethnic coalitions seeking minority empowerment. They also have introduced challenges for white incumbents, who must seek new ways to construct a political majority.
• The 2001 elections in both cities revealed strain in the multi-racial coalitions among blacks, Latinos and liberal whites that had previously elected black mayors in New York and Los Angeles

John Mollenkopf and John Logan do not conclude that there is an inevitable path for racial and ethnic succession in the two cities. Rather they believe that by examining past patterns, New York and Los Angeles may provide helpful lessons about how to manage demographic change in ways that are politically inclusive and produce the best climate for democracy and prosperity in large urban cities. The authors conclude, for example, that by looking at the factors that cause the 'representation gap' in diverse cities — the characteristics of the operation of the electoral systems, potential conflict and competition among native and immigrant minority groups, and the larger patterns of racial inequality in urban political systems — conversations can take place and steps can be taken to improve the democratic process and to create over time, a new, multi-ethnic, better-functioning urban democracy.

The conference, based on this report, was designed to begin that dialogue. The conference brought together political strategists, community activists, labor and business leaders, academic experts, and others to discuss the study's findings and implications and to begin to strategize about how best to meet the political and governance challenges of a changing city.

The conference featured a presentation by John Mollenkopf and John Logan of the findings of their report. Featured speakers included Dennis Archer, president-elect of the American Bar Association and former mayor of Detroit, Fernando Ferrer, president of the Drum Major Institute and former Bronx Borough President, Antonio Villaragosa, member of the Los Angeles City Council, and Pete Hamill, author and journalist. Panel participants included: Margaret Fung, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Tamar Jacoby, Manhattan Institute; Robert George, New York Post; Roberto Ramirez, the Mirram Group; Hank Sheinkopf, Sheinkopf Communications; David Axelrod, Axelrod and Associates; Xavier Briggs, Harvard University; and Wilbur Rich, Wellesley College. Jonathan Hicks, a metro political reporter for the New York Times served as moderator for both panels.