I think one reason that suburbia exists in America in its present form is that local politics is corrupt everywhere. The two-party system degenerates into a one-party system in any city where local public opinion is strongly left (most coastal cities) or right (Deep South) of the American body politic. There are some advantages to two-party systems, but the consensus opinion among political scientists is that one-party democracy is a lie. The result is balkanization, as dissatisfaction with local politics causes large municipalities to decline as wealthy individuals move to smaller municipalities with more responsive governments. You can watch this happen in real-time if you pay attention to discussions on NextDoor or participate in local politics in most other ways.
For an example I'm familiar with, let's look at San Jose. It starts with this unelected guy:
This led to a huge backlash in 1962 and the eventual election of anti-development mayor Norman Y. Mineta. As people fled San Jose, revenues declined; in 1983, the San Jose School District went bankrupt.
If you go to any city in the country -- San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Austin, whatever -- you'll hear constant complaints about corruption and a lack of effective political participation. It's everywhere, and it's been getting steadily worse since the Southern Strategy created the modern two-party miasma.
For an example I'm familiar with, let's look at San Jose. It starts with this unelected guy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._P._Hamann
"They say San José is going to become another Los Angeles. Believe me, I'm going to do everything in my power to make that come true."
This led to a huge backlash in 1962 and the eventual election of anti-development mayor Norman Y. Mineta. As people fled San Jose, revenues declined; in 1983, the San Jose School District went bankrupt.
If you go to any city in the country -- San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Austin, whatever -- you'll hear constant complaints about corruption and a lack of effective political participation. It's everywhere, and it's been getting steadily worse since the Southern Strategy created the modern two-party miasma.