A Strategic Political-Culture Basis for Developing the Socioeconomic Welfare of Disadvantaged Urban Communities: General Review and Policy Framework

The goal of promoting the economy and social welfare of disadvantaged urban communities has always been at the forefront of community studies; yet, this issue has also remained consistently controversial. The resurgence of the political-culture approach in the urban subfield has shed new light on this matter, raising new insights and presenting novel conclusions. The current study summarizes the main propositions of this approach with regard to community development, and highlights its powerful impact and valuable contribution to the understanding of the construction of urban economy, particularly concerning the welfare of disadvantaged communities. This study supports the application of the political-culture approach by reviewing and discussing major studies that have specifically examined various modes of “social capital” as a moderating concept between economic logic and local political culture (e.g., trust, social cohesion and civic engagement). Analyses of such relationships illustrate the common failure inherent in universal, culturally-blind policymaking, and highlight the importance of integrating the input of political-culture knowledge into the policy-making processes. Given this theoretical base, this paper presents a more effective methodological framework for addressing policy goals, based on the redefinition of the policy problem and a reformulation of policy plans—regarding strategy, institutions, and coalition-building—in accordance with local political-culture features and specific circumstances.