Building New Identities: Book Review

By Catherine Diaz Possible Urban Worlds: Urban Strategies at the End of the 20th Century Edited by Richard Wolff, Andreas Schneider, Christian Schmid, Philip Klaus, Andreas Hofer, and Hansruedi Hitz. 1998. Available from Birkhauser Verlag, PO Box 133, CH-40010, Basel,…

Profit Drives the Growth Machine

By Rodney D. Green Profit maximization is at the heart of the Growth Machine. But the Growth Machine isn’t strictly a local or regional phenomenon, as suggested by urban planners who rely on the Growth Machine model. It operates according…

The Auto Drives the Growth Machine

By Aaron Golub Nothing defines and shapes post-war urban transportation in the United States more than the automobile. The strong links between transportation, land use, and urban development affect nearly every aspect of the urban environment. Planners now find that…

Alternatives to the Growth Machine

By Dick Platkin and Ben Rosenbloom, Guest Editors This issue of Planners Network is on the Urban Growth Machine, a popular model for understanding the development of land under capitalism. As presented by William Fulton in The Reluctant Metropolis, the growth machine…

The Growth Machine Goes to the Inner City

By Dwayne Wyatt The Growth Machine that gave us suburban sprawl is going to the inner city. But the benefits of the new urban megaprojects are bypassing most central city residents. And the costs are falling on urban taxpayers, making…