Forms of Government and Socioeconomic Characteristics of Suburbs

In this study, 300 American suburbs are classified according to the three major forms of government: commission (considered to be most decentralized), mayor-council, and council-manager (most centralized). Various social and economic characteristics are then examined. The commission city is the least likely, and the council-manager city is the most likely, to be newer and to have a young, mobile, white, middleclass population that is growing rapidly. It is suggested that the socioeconomic character of a city may partly determine its political structure.' Leo F. Schnore is professor of sociology and Robert R. Alford is assistant professor of sociology, University of Wisconsin.