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URBAN GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHANGING POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, 1945-2017 by Jason Bourke A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Affairs and Public Policy Spring 2018 © 2018 Bourke All Rights Reserved URBAN GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHANGING POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, 1945-2017 by Jason Bourke Approved: __________________________________________________________ Maria P. Aristigueta, D.P.A. Director of the School of Public Policy and Administration Approved: __________________________________________________________ George H. Watson, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Ann L. Ardis, Ph.D. Senior Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Daniel Rich, Ph.D. Professor in charge of dissertation I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Steven Peuquet, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Andrea Sarzynski, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Tony Allen, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are a great many people to whom the author of this work is personally and professionally indebted. These individuals have earned every bit of gratitude that can be mustered and it is regretted that there are inevitably some who will be missed. First, I express my gratitude to the thirty-plus interview participants who have been so generous with their time and recollections. This research design depended entirely upon the kindness of strangers, an intimidating proposition, but one made possible by a broad, interwoven and generous community in Delaware. In addition to the participants who took time out of their schedules to share their experiences with me, I have been the beneficiary of the advice and kindness of people across the University of Delaware, the City of Wilmington and several other institutions. These folks include faculty in the School of Public Policy and Administration, like Professor Ed Freel, who provided advice and materials; and Professor Raheemah Jabbar-Bey, who in addition to general advice, participated in an interview, helped make important connections, and provided general guidance and mentorship throughout my time at the University of Delaware. Supporting staff at the School of Public Policy and Administration have all kept my academic life running smoothly. My peers in the School of Public Policy and Administration have been comrades, sounding-boards, and friends throughout this effort. In particular, David Karas has served as a much- needed sounding-board, support, and connection to the City of Wilmington. His assistance and friendship have been indispensable. iv My dissertation committee has an obvious role in making this work happen, but each have gone far beyond what I believe I had any right to ask of them. Dr. Steven Peuquet has been a mentor throughout my time at the University of Delaware, contributed a great deal to my experiences of community development in Delaware and has been a source of a great deal of personal and intellectual growth. Dr. Tony Allen has lent his perspective and advice through the development of the research, helped make connections to key participants, and helped me respectfully and honestly understand and report issues related to civic, economic and social life in the African American community. Dr. Andrea Sarzynski has provided much-needed methodological and technical advice, fresh perspective, and firm critical guidance when I needed it most. Finally, I cannot overstate my gratitude to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Dan Rich. Dr. Rich has been a steady figure in my life for the last several years, from the conception of this work, through the meditative questions to draw out the important themes throughout this work, through the feedback on countless drafts of all or parts of this work, through the connections to the community, through the self-imposed conundrums and anxieties and beyond. Dr. Rich has guided me through this process with unwavering patience and kindness. I cannot thank him enough. Finally, I must acknowledge the role my family has played in this endeavor. My parents, Robert and Janet, who embody perseverance, and can always be counted on to be supportive and my brother, Bryan, who has achieved well beyond his young age, are as much a part of this work as I am. More than anyone, however, I dedicate this dissertation to my partner and best friend, Alexandra Tarantino, whose love, support, humor, advice, motivation and patience, I believe, earn her a PhD of her own. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ xi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Case Context ....................................................................................................... 5 Concepts ........................................................................................................... 11 Conceptual Lens ......................................................................................... 16 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 21 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 23 Analytic Framework ................................................................................... 23 Evidence ..................................................................................................... 27 Gathering Information from Documents .............................................. 28 Interviews ............................................................................................. 29 Information Handling ........................................................................... 30 What is to Come ............................................................................................... 31 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 37 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 37 Local Economic Development ......................................................................... 38 Early History .............................................................................................. 38 The Branches of Local Economic Development Theory ........................... 41 Neoclassical Economic Theory .................................................................. 41 Economic Base Theory ............................................................................... 42 Location Theories ....................................................................................... 44 Local Economic Development Issues ........................................................ 47 Conceptual and Definitional Issues ............................................................ 47 Distributional Issues ................................................................................... 49 On Privatism ..................................................................................................... 52 Context Matters: The Urban Environment and Local Political Economy ....... 58 The Power Elite .......................................................................................... 59 Pluralist Governance .................................................................................. 60 vi The Growth Machine .................................................................................. 61 Regime Theory ........................................................................................... 62 Corporate Governance: When Corporations Dominate a City ................... 64 The Impact of Globalization ............................................................................. 65 Takeaways from Literature ............................................................................... 69 Propositions (Hypotheses), Scholarly Implications and Local Impacts ........... 72 3 THE ROOTS OF WILMINGTON’S POLITICAL ECONOMY .................... 75 Beginnings