INTRODUCTION: COMPARATIVE CIVIC CULTURE

This symposium presents a subset of findings from a larger multicity research project using a single operational and methodological scheme to explore the nature of civic culture. The overall purpose is to explore civic cultures in an array of larger cities, test an initial typology of civic culture, and begin to examine the connections between civic culture and local policy. The articles in the symposium make clear that it is possible to empirically identify a parsimonious taxonomy of local civic cultures focusing on systems of community power, values, and decision-making. While many questions about the internal dynamics of each type remain to be answered, the civic cultures identified here appear empirically distinct and theoretically logical. Future research and dialogue need to focus on defining what culture is and what it is not, and then move to explore the linkages between the elements of civic culture and ultimately to local policy.