DOCSLIB.ORG

Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place Author(S): Harvey Molotch Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place Author(S): Harvey Molotch Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place Author(s): Harvey Molotch Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 82, No. 2 (Sep., 1976), pp. 309-332 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2777096 . Accessed: 13/11/2013 18:09 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Sociology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.210.126.199 on Wed, 13 Nov 2013 18:09:44 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place' Harvey Molotch Universityof California,Santa Barbara A city and, moregenerally, any locality,is conceivedas the areal expressionof the interestsof some land-basedelite. Such an elite is seen to profitthrough the increasingintensification of the land use of the area in whichits membershold a commoninterest. An elite competeswith other land-based elites in an effortto have growth-inducingresources invested within its own area as opposed to thatof another.Governmental authority, at thelocal and nonlocal levels,is utilizedto assistin achievingthis growth at the expenseof competinglocalities. Conditions of communitylife are largelya con- sequenceof thesocial, economic, and politicalforces embodied in this growthmachine. The relevanceof growthto the interestsof various social groupsis examinedin thiscontext, particularly with reference to the issue of unemployment.Recent social trendsin oppositionto growthare describedand theirpotential consequences evaluated. Conventionaldefinitions of "city," "urban place," or "metropolis"have led to conventionalanalyses of urban systemsand urban-basedsocial problems.Usually traceableto Wirth'sclassic and highlyplausible formu- lation of "numbers,density and heterogeneity"(1938), therehas been a continuingtendency, even in more recent formulations(e.g., Davis 1965), to conceiveof place quite apart froma crucialdimension of social structure:power and social class hierarchy.Consequently, sociological researchbased on the traditionaldefinitions of whatan urbanplace is has had verylittle relevance to theactual, day-to-day activities of thoseat the top of local powerstructure whose priorities set the limitswithin which decisionsaffecting land use, the publicbudget, and urbansocial life come to be made. It has not been veryapparent from the scholarshipof urban social sciencethat land, the basic stuffof place, is a marketcommodity providingwealth and power,and that some veryimportant people conse- quentlytake a keeninterest in it. Thus, althoughthere are extensivelitera- tureson communitypower as well as on how to defineand conceptualize a cityor urbanplace, thereare fewnotions available to linkthe twoissues coherently,focusing on the urbansettlement as a politicaleconomy. This paper aims towardfilling this need. I speculatethat the political 1 I have had the benefitof criticalcomments and assistancefrom Richard Appelbaum, Richard Baisden, Norman Bowers, Norton Long, Howard Newby, Anthony Shih, Tony Pepitone, Gerald Suttles,Gaye Tuchman, and Al Wyner. AJS Volume 82 Number2 309 This content downloaded from 128.210.126.199 on Wed, 13 Nov 2013 18:09:44 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions AmericanJournal of Sociology and economicessence of virtuallyany givenlocality, in thepresent Amer- ican context,is growth.I furtherargue that the desirefor growth provides the key operativemotivation toward consensus for members of politically mobilizedlocal elites,however split they mightbe on otherissues, and that a commoninterest in growthis the overridingcommonality among importantpeople in a given locale-at least insofaras they have any importantlocal goals at all. Further,this growthimperative is the most importantconstraint upon available optionsfor local initiativein social and economicreform. It is thus that I argue that the veryessence of a localityis its operationas a growthmachine. The clearest indicationof success at growthis a constantlyrising urban-areapopulation-a symptomof a patternordinarily comprising an initialexpansion of basic industriesfollowed by an expandedlabor force, a risingscale of retail and wholesalecommerce, more far-flungand in- creasinglyintensive land development,higher population density, and increasedlevels of financialactivity. Although throughout this paper I indexgrowth by the variablepopulation growth, it is thisentire syndrome of associatedevents that is meantby the generalterm "growth."2 I argue that the meansof achievingthis growth,of settingoff this chain of phe- nomena,constitute the centralissue for those seriouspeople who care about theirlocality and who have the resourcesto make theircaring felt as a politicalforce. The cityis, forthose who count,a growthmachine. THE HUMAN ECOLOGY: MAPS AS INTEREST MOSAICS I have arguedelsewhere (Molotch 1967, 1973) that any givenparcel of land representsan interestand thatany givenlocality is thusan aggregate of land-basedinterests. That is, each landowner(or personwho otherwise has some interestin the prospectiveuse of a givenpiece of land) has in minda certainfuture for that parcel which is linkedsomehow with his or her own well-being.If thereis a simple ownership,the relationshipis 2 This association of related phenomena is the common conceptualization which students of the economic development of cities ordinarilyutilize in their analyses (see, e.g., Alonso 1964, pp. 79-81; Leven 1964, pp. 140-44; Brown 1974, pp. 48-51; and Durr 1971, pp. 174-80). As Sunquist remarks in the context of his study of population policies in Western Europe, "The key to population distributionis, of course, job availability.A few persons-retired,notably, and some independentpro- fessionalssuch as artists,writers and inventors-may be free to live in any locality they choose but, for the rest,people are compelled to distributethemselves in what- ever pattern is dictated by the distributionof employment opportunities.Some investorsmay locate their investmentin areas of surplus labour voluntarily,and so check the migrationflow, and others may be induced by governmentassistance to do so. But if neitherof these happens-if the jobs do not go where the workersare -the workersmust go to the jobs, if they are not to accept welfareas a way of life. When population distributionis an end, then,job distributionis inevitablythe means" (1975, p. 13). 310 This content downloaded from 128.210.126.199 on Wed, 13 Nov 2013 18:09:44 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The City as a GrowthMachine straightforward:to the degree to which the land's profitpotential is enhanced,one's own wealthis increased.In othercases, the relationship may be more subtle: one has interestin an adjacent parcel, and if a noxioususe shouldappear, one's own parcel may be harmed.More subtle stillis the emergenceof concernfor an aggregateof parcels: one sees that one's futureis boundto the futureof a largerarea, thatthe futureenjoy- mentof financialbenefit flowing from a givenparcel will derivefrom the generalfuture of the proximateaggregate of parcels. When this occurs, there is that "we feeling" (McKenzie 1922) which bespeaks of com- munity.We need to see each geographicalmap-whether of a smallgroup of land parcels,a wholecity, a region,or a nation-not merelyas a de- marcationof legal, political,or topographicalfeatures, but as a mosaic of competingland interestscapable of strategiccoalition and action. Each unit of a communitystrives, at the expenseof the others,to enhancethe land-usepotential of the parcelswith which it is associated. Thus, forexample, shopkeepers at bothends of a blockmay competewith one anotherto determinein frontof whichbuilding the bus stop will be placed. Or, hotel ownerson the northside of a city may competewith thoseon the southto get a conventioncenter built nearby(see Banfield 1961). Likewise,area units fightover highwayroutes, airport locations, campus developments,defense contracts,traffic lights, one-way street designations,and park developments.The intensityof groupconsciousness and activitywaxes and wanes as opportunitiesfor and challengesto the collectivegood rise and fall; but whenthese coalitionsare of sufficiently enduringquality, they constitute identifiable, ongoing communities. Each memberof a communityis simultaneouslythe memberof a numberof others; hence,communities exist in a nestedfashion (e.g., neighborhood withincity within region), with salience of communitylevel varyingboth overtime and circumstance.Because of thisnested nature of communities, subunitswhich are competitivewith one anotherat one level (e.g., in an interblockdispute over wherethe bus stop shouldgo) will be in coalition at a higherlevel (e.g., in an intercityrivalry over wherethe new port shouldgo). Obviously,the anticipationof potentialcoalition acts to con- strainthe intensityof conflictat morelocal loci of growthcompetition. Hence, to the degreeto whichotherwise competing land-interest groups collude to achieve a commonland-enhancement
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Urban-Race Reading List Elijah Anderson February 7, 2013
    1 Urban-Race Reading List Elijah Anderson February 7, 2013 Elijah Anderson, Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990). Elijah Anderson, Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City (New York: W.W. Norton, 1999). Elijah Anderson, A Place on the Corner, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). Elijah Anderson, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life (New York: W.W. Norton, 2011). Digby Baltzell, Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class (New York: Free Press, 1958). Howard S. Becker, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance (New York: Free Press, 1973). Herbert Blumer, “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position,” The Pacific Sociological Review 1 (1) (1958). Alfred Blumstein, “On the Racial Disproportion in the United States’ Prison Populations,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 73 (3) (1982): 1259–1281. Alfred Blumstein, “Racial Disproportionality of U.S. Prison Populations Revisited,” University of Colorado Law Review 64 (3) (1993): 743–760. Alfred Blumstein and Jacqueline Cohen, “A Theory of the Stability of Punishment,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 64 (2) (1973): 198–207. Lawrence D. Bobo and James R. Kluegel, “Opposition to Race-Targeting: Self-Interest Stratification Ideology or Racial Attitudes,” American Sociological Review 58 (1993): 443–464. Lawrence D. Bobo and Victor Thompson, “Racialized Mass Incarceration: Poverty, Prejudice, and Punishment,” in Doing Race: 21 Essays for the 21st Century, ed. Hazel R. Markus and Paula Moya (New York: W.W. Norton, 2010), 322–355. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America, 2nd ed.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT PERMUT, TESSA. Urban Planning, Revitalization, and the Reproduction of Inequality
    ABSTRACT PERMUT, TESSA. Urban Planning, Revitalization, and the Reproduction of Inequality (Under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Ebert). Urban revitalization plays a critical role in housing and community development policy, yet sociological research on gentrification, displacement, and racial turnover often ignores or overlooks it in the reproduction of urban inequality. In this dissertation, I focus on urban planners and the attitudes, processes, and ideologies that underlie their revitalization practices in low-income neighborhoods. I ask: What beliefs, preferences, and dispositions underlie planners’ practices? Why and how do urban planners target neighborhoods for revitalization during a period of urban resurgence? In what ways might these ‘planner factors’ manifest in revitalization plans? In three interrelated articles, I use a mixed-methods approach to investigate planners’ attitudes towards common urban planning practices and revitalization methods during a period of high demand for urban housing. I collect data using semi-structured interviews with urban planners and residents of revitalizing neighborhoods; content analysis of revitalization policies; content analysis of city council minutes, bids, and proposals; participant observation of urban planning forums, courses, and events; and finally, quantitative analysis of data derived from an original survey that I designed and distributed to urban planners who maintain membership with the American Planning Association North Carolina chapter. By bringing sociological theory to bear on the field of urban planning, this project challenges the assumed impartial and constrained practices of urban planning professionals. The findings reveal that urban planners are heavily involved in implementing policy aligned with neoliberal paternalism that reproduces race and class inequality. As a whole, my dissertation demonstrates the relevance of race, class, and the political economy to urban planning in our new era of urban housing demand.
    [Show full text]
  • Josh Pacewicz Ph.D
    November 14th, 2019 Josh Pacewicz Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies Brown University Maxcy Hall, Box 1916 Providence, RI 02906 Phone: (773)-251-8698 Email: [email protected] Employment Associate Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at Brown University 2019- Assistant Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at Brown University 2012-2019 ASA Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University 2010-2012 Education The University of Chicago Ph.D. in Sociology 2010 The University of Chicago A.M. in Sociology 2005 The University of Texas at Austin – Plan II Honors Program B.A. with Special Honors in Liberal Arts 2003 Additional coursework completed at Georgetown University-School of Foreign Service (1998-99), The University of Paris-X (2001-2002), and l’EHESS (2001-2002). Selected Publications Books: 2016 Josh Pacewicz. 2016. Partisans and Partners: The Politics of the Post- Keynesian Society The University of Chicago Press.* *American Sociological Association Theory Prize for best book in Sociological Theory (Co-Winner) Articles and book chapters: Forthcoming Josh Pacewicz. “What can you do with a single case? How to think about ethnographic case selection like a historical sociologist” Sociological Methods and Research Forthcoming Josh Pacewicz. “The Political Economy of the Capitalist State” Oxford Handbook of Political Sociology. 2018 Josh Pacewicz. “The Regulatory Road to Reform: bureaucratic activism, agency advocacy, and Medicaid expansion within the delegated welfare state” Politics and Society 46 (4): 571-601. 2017 Terrance Halliday, Susan Block-Leib and Josh Pacewicz. “Delegations and Delegates,” p. 161-192. In Global Lawmakers: International Organizations in the Crafting of World Markets, Terrance Halliday and Susan Block-Leib, eds.
    [Show full text]
  • Andrei Boutyline Assistant Professor University of Michigan Department of Sociology [email protected]
    Andrei Boutyline Assistant Professor University of Michigan Department of Sociology [email protected] Curriculum Vitae Employment University of Michigan Fall 2017 — … Assistant Professor of Sociology Education University of California, Berkeley PhD 2017 Sociology MA 2011 New York University MA 2009 Humanities and Social Thought University of California, Berkeley BA 2004 Cognitive Science, Computer Science (minor) Peer-Reviewed Research Boutyline, Andrei and Stephen Vaisey. 2017. “Belief Network Analysis: A Relational Approach to Understanding the Structure of Attitudes.” American Journal of Sociology 122, no. 5 (March): 1371-1447. Boutyline, Andrei. 2017. “Improving the Measurement of Shared Cultural Schemas with Correlational Class Analysis: Theory and Method.” Sociological Science 4: 353-393. May 29, 2017. doi:10.15195/v4.a15 — Graduate student paper award, ASA Mathematical Sociology section (2015) — Honorable mention for graduate student paper award, ASA Section on Methodology (2016) Boutyline, Andrei and Robb Willer. 2017. “The Social Structure of Political Echo Chambers: Variation in Ideological Homophily in Online Networks.” Political Psychology 38, no. 3 (June): 551-569. doi:10.1111/ pops.12337 January 16, 2020 Andrei Boutyline 1 Work in Progress Note: asterisks (*) indicate graduate student coauthors Boutyline, Andrei, Alina Arseniev-Koehler(*), Devin Cornell(*). “School, Studying, and Smarts: The Gender of Education Across 80 Years of American Print Media, 1930-2009” (in preparation) Boutyline, Andrei, and Laura Sauter(*) “Cultural
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    CURRICULUM VITAE John R. Logan Phone (401) 863-2267 Department of Sociology [email protected] Brown University Providence, RI 02912 EDUCATION BA University of California, Berkeley (March 1968) MA Columbia University (June 1969) PhD University of California, Berkeley (June 1974) ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS Phi Beta Kappa (Berkeley 1968) Faculty Fellow (Columbia (1968-1969) NSF National Fellow (Berkeley 1970-1972) NEH Summer Fellow (1976) Robert E. Park Award, ASA (l988) Award for a Distinguished Scholarly Publication, ASA (1990) Sorokin Lecturer, Pacific Sociological Association (1991) University Award for Excellence in Research, SUNY (1991) University Award for Excellence in Service, SUNY (1995) Russell Sage Foundation, Visiting Scholar (1996-1997) William J. Goode Award, ASA (1997) Rockefeller Foundation Study Center (Bellagio), Visiting Scholar (1999) SUNY Research Foundation Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship (2003) Robert and Helen Lynd Lifetime Achievement Award, ASA (2008) PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS Professor, Department of Sociology, Brown University, 2004-present. Director, Research Initiative on Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4), 2004-2016. Visiting Professor, Department of Sociology, Princeton University. 2018-2019. Guest Professor, Department of Sociology, Tongji University (Shanghai). 2016-2019. Visiting Research Professor, Department of Geography, Hong Kong University. 2010-2013. Research Professor, Professeur invité, Observatoire Sociologique du Changement, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Paris). January 2008. Director, Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research, University at Albany, 1999-2004. Director, Center for Social and Demographic Analysis, 2003-2004. Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology and Department of Public Administration and Policy, University at Albany, 2000-2004; Professor, 1986-2000. Associate Professor, 1980- 1986. Chair, Department of Sociology, 1988-1991.
    [Show full text]
  • 11.469 Urban Sociology SYLLABUS V6 for Stellar(2)
    11.469 URBAN SOCIOLOGY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Department of Urban Studies + Planning Spring 2012 Class meetings: Wednesdays, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room 10-401 Faculty: Xavier de Souza Briggs, Room 9-521, [email protected], voice 253-7956 Office hours: sign up online or make appointment through staff assistant Staff assistant: Harriette Crawford, Room 9-519, [email protected], voice 253-7736 Instructor: Abby Spinak, [email protected], 773-354-2691 COURSE DESCRIPTION This graduate-level seminar introduces students to a set of core writings in the field of urban sociology. Topics include the changing nature of community, social inequality, political power, socio-spatial change, use and impacts of technology and technological change, and the relationship between the built environment and human behavior (and how changes in each interact). We examine the key theoretical paradigms that have constituted the field since its founding, assess how and why they have changed over time, and discuss the implications of these shifts for urban research, policy and planning practice. As such, the course has two goals: (1) To give students a more critical appreciation of the contemporary, comparative, and historical contexts in which planning skills and sensibilities have been developed and could be applied; and (2) To offer a “sociology of knowledge” approach to the field of urban sociology, so as to prepare more advanced students to pursue the urban sociology doctoral exam. LEARNING APPROACH AND EVALUATION The seminar is centered on intensive discussion, rather than lectures, on assigned readings. Students will be encouraged to discuss how the theoretical and practical concerns that have preoccupied urban sociologists can be applied to their individual interests.
    [Show full text]
  • A Spirit of Urban Capitalism: Market Cities, People Cities, and Cultural Justifications
    A Spirit of Urban Capitalism: Market Cities, People Cities, and Cultural Justifications Kevin T. Smiley, The University at Buffalo* Michael Oluf Emerson, North Park University Urban Research & Practice DOI:10.1080/17535069.2018.1559351 *Corresponding author. Mailing Address: Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Park Hall 430, Buffalo, NY 14228. E-mail address: [email protected]. Phone: 713-453-9292. 1 A Spirit of Urban Capitalism: Market Cities, People Cities, and Cultural Justifications Abstract Diverse urban theories discuss how economic processes shape conceptions of a city, but less research focuses on how pragmatic situations of urban life contribute to the characterisation of cities. We argue that pragmatic justifications reify socially constructed meanings of cities by creating a “spirit of urban capitalism.” This framework conceives of two spirits: the market city, which aligns with neoliberal assumptions, and the people city, which foregrounds a resident- focused model. Using case studies of Copenhagen and Houston, we showcase how these conceptions of cities are justified by elites and residents, and thereby build empirical scaffolding connecting urban economies and cultures. Key Words: Max Weber; Urban Planning; Urban Sociology; Copenhagen, Denmark; Houston, Texas, USA; Market Cities and People Cities 2 A Spirit of Urban Capitalism: Market Cities, People Cities, and Cultural Justifications Introduction Studies of cities primarily have investigated the ecology and political economy of cities showing that the city itself – not just a sum of its neighborhoods nor a global network – is a place in which social action is conditioned, capitalist enterprise is engineered, and government can have decisive influence (Harvey 1973; Logan and Molotch 2007; Scott and Storper 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Prof. Molotch Winter 2006 Introduction to Metropolitan Studies New York
    Prof. Molotch Winter 2006 Introduction to Metropolitan Studies New York University V55.0631 We want to understand how the city works, both as a totality as well as in its detail, including: 1) The nature of everyday urban life; 2) How localities relate to both internal and external forces (economic and political); 3) The way architecture, symbol system, and other aspects of local art play their particular roles; 4) How cities and regions interact with natural environments. Requirements: Two brief papers reporting on urban “laboratory work” and a final essay examination. There will also be a midterm. Required Texts: Mitchell Duneier, Sidewalk. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux (paper). Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class Basic Books John Logan and Harvey Molotch, Urban Fortunes. University of California Press Recommended: Paul Goldberger, Up from Zero: Politics, Architecture, and the Rebuilding of New York James Loewen, Lies Across America Sharon Zukin, The Cultures of Cities Michael Storper, The Regional World Dalton Conley, Being Black, Living in the Red Eric Klinenberg, Heat Wave Various e-journals via Bobst. Course Packet (***indicates course packet material) Buy from: Advanced Copy, 552 La Guardia Place, between W. 3rd Street & Bleecker. I. Ways to Understand the City as a System An Ethnographic Approach Duneier, Part I, “The Informal Life of the Sidewalk” pp 3-114. The approach from Human Ecology: ***Ernest W. Burgess, “The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research Project” from Robert Park, et. al., The City (1925) Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1967 (course packet). A Political Economy Approach John Logan and Harvey Molotch, “The Social Construction of Cities” (Chap.
    [Show full text]
  • Advancing the Knowledge of Local Health Care Policy Through the Growth Machine Thesis
    University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2008 Advancing the knowledge of local health care policy through the growth machine thesis. David P. Houvenagle 1965- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Houvenagle, David P. 1965-, "Advancing the knowledge of local health care policy through the growth machine thesis." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 641. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/641 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. r ADV ANCING THE KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL HEALTH CARE POLICY THROUGH THE GROWTH MACHINE THESIS By David P. Houvenagle B.A., Iowa State University, 1987 M.Div., Bethel University, 1991 M.S.W., Southern Seminary, 1994 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Louisville In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Urban and Public Affairs University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2008 ADV ANCING THE KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL HEAL THCARE
    [Show full text]
  • Harvey Molotch Eugene Mccann, Simon Fraser University
    Harvey Molotch Eugene McCann, Simon Fraser University McCann, E. Harvey Molotch. In Koch, R. & Latham, A. (eds.) Key Thinkers on Cities. London: Sage, 171-176. Key urban writings Molotch, H. (1976) ‘The city as a growth machine: Toward a political economy of place’, American Journal of Sociology, 82(2): 309-332. Logan, J. R. & Molotch, H. L. (1987/2007) Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Molotch, H. (1993) ‘The political economy of growth machines’, Journal of Urban Affairs, 15(1): 29- 53. Molotch, H. (2005) Where Stuff Comes From: How Toasters, Toilets, Cars, Computers and Many Other Things Come To Be As They Are. New York, NY: Routledge. Molotch, H. (2014) Against Security: How We Go Wrong at Airports, Subways, and Other Sites of Ambiguous Danger. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Introduction In urban studies, Harvey Molotch’s name is synonymous with the influential concept of the ‘growth machine.’ As elaborated in his 1976 American Journal of Sociology paper and his classic co-authored book with John Logan, Urban Fortunes (1987), the growth machine is a coalition of local business, political and allied elites who promote and benefit from economic development and population expansion in a city. Indeed, for Molotch (1976, 310), growth, in the American context, is the ‘very essence’ of most places. The influence of this thesis is indicated by its continued key role in critical studies of urban development, the debates it has provoked, and, not least, the fact that Urban Fortunes was republished in a twentieth anniversary edition in 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • “P3s”, Urban Growth Machines, and the Glass City by Curtis Alan Deeter
    A Master’s Thesis entitled “P3s”, Urban Growth Machines, and the Glass City by Curtis Alan Deeter Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Geography ________________________________________ Dr. Sujata Shetty, Committee Chair ________________________________________ Dr. Bhuiyan Alam, Committee Member ________________________________________ Dr. Neil Reid, Committee Member ________________________________________ Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, Dean, College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo May 2018 Copyright 2018, Curtis Alan Deeter This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of “P3’s”, Urban Growth Machines, and the Glass City by Curtis Alan Deeter Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Geography The University of Toledo May 2018 As the landscape of 21st Century Rustbelt cities continues to change, city leaders are faced with important decisions on how to manage these changes. For some, growth is the most viable option. For others, especially those with a declining population and diminishing infrastructure, growth is out of the question. This paper will attempt to analyze the growth politics of Toledo, Ohio, utilizing the Urban Growth Machine theory and public-private partnerships as the framework. One such partnership, the Toledo 22nd Century Committee, will be the focus for the analysis. Census data, real estate data provided by a local real estate development agency, newspaper articles, and qualitative analysis using MaxQDA will work in tangent with key-member interviews to answer the underlying research question: do the public-private partnerships in the city of Toledo fit the model of an emerging growth machine? If so, what sort of impact might this have on future revitalization efforts? iii This is dedicated to all those who have wandered but have never felt lost.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analytical Review of Urban Space and Social Inequalities
    Spaces for Difference: An Interdisciplinary Journal Volume 1, Number 2, pp. 29-50 Finding Space Beyond Variables: An Analytical Review of Urban Space and Social Inequalities LAUREN JOSEPH Stony Brook University ABSTRACT Attention to the element of space in the urban setting illuminates how social inequalities and social difference are reproduced and contested. In this review essay, I draw upon urban social research to demonstrate the relevance and utility of spatial analysis in the city, focusing on the dimensions of race, class, gender, and sexuality. I present a conceptual framework for analyzing the intersection of urban space, social inequality, and social difference: (a) urban space as inscribed by boundaries and reflective of patterns of social difference and inequality; (b) urban space as a site and object of struggle between social groups; and (c) urban space as a vehicle for social reproduction through the logic of its universe. Edward Soja points to the recent “spatial turn” of the late 1990s, in which he finds a “renewed awareness of the simultaneity and interwoven complexity of the social, historical, and spatial dimensions of our lives, their inseparability and often problematic interdependence” (2000:7). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s (1984) attention to the intersections of space, knowledge, and power and Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) conceptualization of the relations between spatiality, society and history, social researchers across disciplines have increasingly turned toward examining the social production of space, particularly urban space. This synthesis between identities, social inequality, and geography, slowly coming to be recognized in greater part by social researchers, is a lesson that comes to us from the geographers, such as Lynn Staeheli and Patricia Martin (2000) who point out that a fundamental tenet of geography is that space is constructed in and through social relations that are as fluid as the social positions and identities that led to their production.
    [Show full text]