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Domesticating Urban Theory? US Concepts, British Cities and the Limits of Cross-national Applications

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  • Andrew M. Wood

    (Department of Geography, University of Oklahoma, 100 East Boyd Street, SEC 680, Norman, OK 73019-1007, USA. amwood@ou.edu.)

Abstract

The efficacy of the urban regime and growth machine concepts beyond the US remains a matter of considerable debate. Some argue that these frameworks retain considerable value so long as they are 'properly' applied and that recent concerns about the limits to these frameworks result from no more than their 'misapplication'. I critically examine this argument through a review of recent work on the mobilisation of business interests in British cities. The central claim is that, even when focused on the 'right' issues and questions, US frameworks quickly exhaust their explanatory capacity. In the context of a widening diversity of alternative approaches, I suggest that it is time to move squarely beyond growth coalition and regime accounts. The paper makes a number of suggestions for ways in which this new phase of theory building might proceed.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew M. Wood, 2004. "Domesticating Urban Theory? US Concepts, British Cities and the Limits of Cross-national Applications," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(11), pages 2103-2118, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:41:y:2004:i:11:p:2103-2118
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098042000268366
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Natacha Aveline-Dubach & Guillaume Blandeau, 2019. "The political economy of transit value capture: The changing business model of the MTRC in Hong Kong [L'économie politique de la captation de valeur foncière (Land value capture): le nouveau modèle," Post-Print halshs-02100616, HAL.
    2. Andrew Wood & Dave Valler, 2010. "Editorial: Conceptualizing Local and Regional Economic Development in the United States," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 137-138.

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