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Revisiting ‘the city as a growth machine’

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  • Kevin R Cox

Abstract

Written 40 years ago, Harvey Molotch’s paper ‘City as a Growth Machine’, is a milestone in urban studies. By its focus on land owners and land related interests and their collective promotion of urban growth he radically shifted the centre of gravity of studies of urban politics. This article celebrates his achievement. It then shows, first, how his insights might be deepened by a critique whose point of departure is a recognition of the capitalist nature of that politics and the role played by the accumulation strategies of property developers; and second, how our understanding of urban growth politics in the USA might be deepened by comparison with that in the countries of Western Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin R Cox, 2017. "Revisiting ‘the city as a growth machine’," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 10(3), pages 391-405.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cjrecs:v:10:y:2017:i:3:p:391-405.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cjres/rsx011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert A. Beauregard, 2005. "The Textures of Property Markets: Downtown Housing and Office Conversions in New York City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(13), pages 2431-2445, December.
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    3. Kevin R. Cox, 2010. "The Problem of Metropolitan Governance and the Politics of Scale," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 215-227.
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    5. Andrew Wood, 2004. "The Scalar Transformation of the U.S. Commercial Property-Development Industry: A Cautionary Note on the Limits of Globalization," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 80(2), pages 119-140, April.
    6. Richard A. Walker & Richard A. Walker, 1978. "Two Sources of Uneven Development Under Advanced Capitalism: Spatial Differentiation and Capital Mobility," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 10(3), pages 28-38, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. William L. Swann & Shelley McMullen & Dan Graeve & Serena Kim, 2019. "Community Resistance and Discretionary Strategies in Planning Sustainable Development: The Case of Colorado Cities," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(4), pages 98-110.

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