The Character and Consequences of Growth Regimes

Abstract

The authors review the empirical evidence on two key hypotheses derived from the model of the city as a growth machine. The first posits the pervasive influence of progrowth coalitions in local governing regimes. The second states that growth regimes make a difference to local development. The authors offer suggestions to strengthen research on both points, emphasizing the need to distinguish between policy and politics. They urge greater attention to an alternative hypothesis: that the main impacts of growth machines lie in their distributional outcomes—intensifying inequalities among places and displacing alternative goals of governance at the local level.