Nation's Metropolis describes how the national capital region functions as a metropolitan political economy. Its authors distinguish aspects of the Washington region that reflect its characteristics as a national capital from those common to most other metropolitan regions and to other capitals. To do so, they employ an interdisciplinary approach that draws from economics, political science, sociology, geography, and history.

Royce Hanson and Harold Wolman focus on four major themes:

• The federal government as the region's basic industry and its role in economic, physical, and political development.
• Race as a core force in the development of the metropolis.
• The mismatch of the governance and economy of the national capital region.
• The conundrum of achieving fully democratic governance for Washington, DC.

Critical regional issues and policy problems are analyzed in the context of these themes, including poverty, inequality, education, housing, transportation, water supply, and governance.

The authors conclude that the institutions and practices that accrued over the 19th and 20th centuries are inadequate for dealing effectively with the issues confronting the city and the region in the 21st. The accumulation of problems arising from the unique role of the federal government and the persistent problem of racial inequality has been compounded by failure to resolve the conundrum of governance for the District of Columbia. They recommend rethinking the governance of the entire region.

The book is published by University of Pennsylvania Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.