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Democratic and participatory evaluation raises questions of power. Power lies not only in agenda setting and problem definition but also in formulating alternatives. The latter seems to have been forgotten in the literature on democratic evaluation. This may be partly due to the general neglect of assessing alternatives in evaluations, whether ex ante or ex post. The article distinguishes different forms of democracy and specifies a model of evaluation that is intended to fit within representative democracy. The model is exemplified by an evaluation of a large infrastructure programme in Stockholm, in which environmental organizations took part.

Houston, Tex, has emerged over recent years as a constantly growing Ur center, at first through proximity to petrochemical resources & later through its role as a center of petrochemical technology. The city has a great deal of economic vitality; as a result, its local politics are dominated by economic elites concerned with protecting their own status. The government that performs this task is under strong mayoral control; the mayor is prevented from developing his own political strength by an electoral system that makes strong financial support necessary to anyone wishing to be elected, support that must be sought in the business community. A large element of the population has an active interest in Houston's continuing growth. The city has a growing black & Hispanic population, & appears to be under social stress & to have a deteriorating infrastructure; it also has just developed a new council electoral system. What effect these factors will have on the city's political future remains to be seen. W. H. Stoddard.

Conflicting views have been advanced about racial voting patterns in the South. One contention is that blacks can most easily align with affluent whites rather than with middle or low income whites. A second argument maintains the opposite—that southern blacks' natural allies are more likely to be working class and poor whites. A third view is that one should expect to find shifting electoral coalitions across racial lines. The authors test these hypotheses with data from 109 major electoral contests in five large southern cities. Findings indicate no consistent pattern of biracial voting exists because several factors influence voting alignments in given elections. These include the traditional patterns of racial politics in given localities; the type of election that is being contested; and the race of the candidates themselves. With regard to the latter two points: it is clear, for example, that in partisan contests black-backed candidates do best with low income whites, unless the candidates are black, in which case it is most difficult to get poor whites to vote for any black office seeker. In light of these findings, the simple models of racial voting are deficient because they fail to specify the factors that influence voting patterns in particular contexts.

Views advanced on racial voting patterns in the South are examined: (1) blacks can most easily align with affluent whites rather than with middle- or low-income whites; (2) a second argument maintains that southern blacks' natural allies are more likely to be Wc & poor whites; & (3) one should expect to find shifting electoral coalitions across racial lines. These hypotheses are tested with precinct level data from 109 major electoral contests in New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas, & Houston. A SES index was developed from 1970 census information. Findings indicate no consistent pattern of biracial voting exists because several factors influence voting alignments in given elections, including traditional patterns of racial politics in given localities, election type; & candidate race. Categoric analysis demonstrates that in partisan contests black-backed candidates do best with low-income whites, unless the candidates are black, in which case poor whites will generally not support them. In light of these findings, racial voting models are deficient because they fail to specify factors influencing voting patterns in particular contexts. 5 Tables. Modified HA.

Census data & precinct electoral data for Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, & Houston are integrated to determine how socioeconomic status variables within black & white populations relate to voting behavior, using 1970 census data & election turnout data for 1968-1972. Black voting is consistently higher at given socioeconomic status levels than white voting, & varies less with level than does white voting. This appears more likely to be due to better black organization than to an overall sense of racial identity among blacks, given intercity differences such as those between Houston & Dallas. 2 Tables. W. H. Stoddard.