Reinventing the railroad suburb: community conflict in the new suburbia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which suburban governments contend with market and citizen pressures to influence land use policy. Design/methodology/approach - The paper utilizes a comparative case study approach by analyzing primary documents and conducting open‐ended interviews. Findings - It can be argued that the historical context of suburban development, the cultural conceptions of suburbia, and the extent of civil society's participation in decision making are important factors in understanding how suburbs are dealing with growth challenges. Practical implications - The cases studied here likely have attributes that are typical of other suburbs in North America. Originality/value - The paper emphasizes the importance of cultural conceptions of the landscape in influencing stakeholder attitudes – an element often neglected in public policy analysis.