Local Government in Practice: Cases in Governance, Planning, and Policy equips students to effectively deal with contemporary challenges within local government. Through a series of evidence-based simulated cases, readers examine situations to better grasp the intricacies of this dynamic and rapidly changing environment.
A diverse range of themes, including council–staff relations, finance, planning and economic development, intergovernmental relations, environmental and health policy, and municipal regulation, provides students with comprehensive coverage of local government in practice.
Contributors
Zachary Spicer
Zachary Spicer is an associate with the Innovation Policy Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and a lecturer at Western University’s Local Government Program. Prior to joining the Munk School, he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Brock University, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in public administration, local government, and public sector management. He received his PhD in Political Science from Western University and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy. His first book, The Boundary Bargain: Growth, Development and the Future of City–County Separation, was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2016. He is the recipient of two early career achievement awards—the Norton Long Young Scholars’ Award and the Susan Clark Young Scholars’ Award—from the urban politics section of the American Political Science Association.
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Western University. His research and teaching interests are in the areas of local government institutions, multilevel governance, and public administration and policy. He is also the director of Western University’s Local Government Program. Many of the students in this program are municipal administrators. Their anecdotes and experiences have served as inspiration for much of the book’s content. Feedback from students has also helped to strengthen the cases and ensure they are grounded in the real world. In turn, he hopes the book will help them and future students more effectively navigate the challenging terrain of local government management and politics.
Kate Graham
Kate Graham has more than a decade of experience working in local government in Canada. Kate served as Director, Community & Economic Innovation at the City of London, with responsibility for the City’s government relations, economic partnerships, culture, and strategic initiatives portfolios. She was a member of the City’s Senior Leadership Team and chair of the Operations Management Team. She worked directly with four mayors, dozens of councillors, and many community groups during her time at the City of London, learning much about the fascinating dynamics of politics at the local level. In 2018, Kate completed her PhD in Political Science at Western University, focused on political leadership in Canada’s cities. She currently teaches in the political science departments at Western University (Local Government Program), Huron University College, and King’s University College. She is also a senior fellow at Canada 2020, leading a project called No Second Chances that focuses on women in Canada’s most senior political roles.
Modal title
This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada. Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.
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