Civic Culture, Sub-cultures, Non-traditionalism and Progressive Policy

Even as some observers criticise its insularity and excessive dependence on political economy approaches, urban politics research has recently witnessed a profusion of studies employing cultural methods. This paper will review how researchers have used cultural methods in explaining political outcomes. It will argue that, in the US context, a sub-cultural model based on a traditionalism/non-traditionalism dichotomy offers greater potential than other approaches to account effectively for progressive strategies which seem illogical within a political economy framework. Finally, it explains how growing non-traditionalism and the global economy jointly explain the increasing acceptability of progressive development among both urban residents and corporate interests in US post-industrial cities. The paper illustrates these claims by applying this framework to development outcomes in Seattle and Las Vegas.