INFORMATION,SPACE, AND THE CONTROL OF LOCAL DECISIONS

Policy scientists have long recognized that economic institutions located far from cities can manipulate resources to affect local policies and politics. Too often, however, these same students have failed to consider the implications of these same actors' control over the production and manipulation of information used to affect economic and political issues. This article assesses the current balance of control over information between cities and the economic and political institutions city officials must deal with to plan for the future of their communities. After detailing the declining ability of cities to control their own information environment and the factors leading to this state of affairs, a series of recommendations is proposed to help local decision makers regain control over their local economic space.