GROWTH COALITIONS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND - A CASE-STUDY OF THE HAMPSHIRE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

This paper examines the utility of the concept of urban growth coalitions for understanding the origins, development and demise of the Hampshire Development Association. The analysis reveals a remarkable number of apparent similarities with the model of growth coalitions postulated by Logan and Molotch to exist in the US including: growth orientation; property sector bias; an ideology of value-free development; the importance of local 'political entrepreneurship'; and token representation of non-capitalist interests. However, a closer examination reveals a number of differences between the HDA and US growth coalitions. These patterns largely reflect the differing character of the local government systems in the UK and the USA but the common elements suggest universal pressures in an era of intense competition for mobile capital.