Growth Machines

Contrasts with Other Schools of Thought

The growth machine concept differs from “power elite” theory, with which it is sometimes associated, because it stipulates that only a segment of the business elite—those with interest in local development per se (as opposed, for example, to corporate owners and managers)—play the important local political roles. Although growth elites may act in concert with other business groups and, indeed, help “prepare the ground” for their land use needs, there is a distinction between those who do business in a particular place and those who make money from the manipulation of place itself. This introduces the possibility of conflict within the business community as to how local land use should be managed.

The growth machine concept differs from the views of most economists, who tend to view any form of development as intrinsically good for the locality, or at least those developments emerging from the private market. But using growth machine theory, the consequences of development are suspect because of the way market conditions are structured under elite domination. For growth machine theorists, unless localities carefully measure and capture the true costs of development, any given project is a net loss and the locality would be better off without it. Development is not necessarily good, even when examined under the terms most often represented as its primary advantages: easing problems of unemployment, high housing costs, or fiscal crises. Researchers have found that cities that are larger, denser, or have higher rates of growth do not outperform other cities on standard indicators of public well-being.

Another distinguishing attribute of growth machine theory is its insistence on questioning how specific groups will be differently affected by a given project or by growth policies overall. Some analysts treat a city's rank in population, aggregate production, or volume of construction proxy as beneficial. But again, effects on diverse urban groups need to be traced; growth machine theory invites investigation of just how one sector of the population may be manipulating institutions and geographic outcomes in ways that harm others, sometimes even the majority.

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