Declining Social Services and the Threat to Social Reproduction: An Urban Dilemma

RECENT FISCAL CRISES experienced by city and federal governments, together with changes in the economy, have resulted in a decline in basic urban services. Since these services are important aspects of the material resources necessary for survival, their decline is threatening the ability of poor and working‐class populations to maintain themselves. The magnitude of current urban problems suggests that we are in the midst of a nationwide crisis in social reproduction. The complex relationship between production for profit and the provision of goods and services for social existence is discussed. This topic is explored in New York City, in the context of decentralization–a recent reform in city government designed to improve service delivery that involves local organizations and other interest groups having a voice in the decision making affecting the quality of the local environment. The relationship between the needs of neighborhood residents, the organizations that emerge to represent their interests, and urban economic policies are discussed, [decentralization, social reproduction, local organizations, social conflict, urban services, urban neighborhoods, citizen participation]