Independent Cities explores the factors which have caused the decline of America's major industrial cities, paying particular attention to the effects of federal policies. Robert Waste uses the unique problems and opportunities presented by contemporary American urban politics to explore public policy and administrative options. He sets forth a rigorous examination of the current state of American cities, with careful consideration given to a wide variety of policy alternatives.

From the moderate alterations identified with the Clinton administration to more radical positions, including amending the American Constitution and the massive overhauling of the nation's infrastructure, Independent Cities suggests an array of solutions to the problems affecting urban America and the peculiar dynamics of urban politics.

Waste abandons ideological purity and academic neutrality in favor of trying to put together a set of programs and policies that, if given a fair trial at the national level, would help solve the current crisis in American cities.