What Is the Best Way To Run a City?

City management models offer different benefits and drawbacks.

2 minute read

December 13, 2022, 10:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Plaque with City Hall engraved

FeyginFoto / City Hall

Alan Ehrenhalt, writing in Governing, describes the history of a little-known form of municipal government known as city commission government. Portland, Oregon, the only American city to use this management system, will now replace it with a “more conventional structure,” writes Ehrenhalt, using this as a jumping-off point for discussing the merits and drawbacks of different city management models.

Although city commissions are intended to “invest politicians with executive authority so that they would take government more seriously and to encourage voters to elect more capable candidates in the first place,” the problems with the model are easy to spot. “[The model gives] elected council members the authority to function as administrators of key city departments. You could win a place on the council and soon find yourself running the police department, even if (as was often the case) you didn’t know much about law enforcement.”

Nevertheless, the system paved the way for the city manager model common in many small cities and towns today. This system comes with its own flaws, such as how “city-manager government leaves no one in a position to serve as a public spokesperson and chief decision-maker.” Meanwhile, the strong-mayor system can lead to either success or corruption, depending on the people in office. As Ehrenhalt concludes, “A dedicated and shrewd public servant can make any system work — even a city commission — while a scoundrel or an incompetent can make any system fail.”

Monday, December 5, 2022 in Governing

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Black and white photo of San Francisco city hall neoclassical dome with person walking across crosswalk in foreground.

San Francisco Mayor Backtracks on Homelessness Goal

Mayor Dan Lurie ran on a promise to build 1,500 additional shelter beds in the city, complete with supportive services. Now, his office says they are “shifting strategy” to focus on prevention and mental health treatment.

July 9 - The San Francisco Standard

Brutalist grey department of housing and urban development building in Washington DC.

How Trump's HUD Budget Proposal Would Harm Homelessness Response

Experts say the change to the HUD budget would make it more difficult to identify people who are homeless and connect them with services, and to prevent homelessness.

July 9 - Shelterforce Magazine

Lancaster Boulevard with tree-lined median and wide sidewalks in Lancaster, California.

The Vast Potential of the Right-of-Way

One writer argues that the space between two building faces is the most important element of the built environment.

July 9 - Streetsblog USA