Métropoles (May 2007)
Globalization and the American Model of Urban Development: Making the Market
Abstract
This survey questions whether the American model of urban development reflects penetration of the local state by new forces unleashed by economic globalization. Although the American model incorporates many neo-liberal features, this analysis describes how government in the USA actually played a key role in erecting a radically decentralized urban system in advance of the new economy. It also surveys how this system is actively sustained through growing state intervention at all governmental levels. The new economy should not be conflated with the American model of development. Rather, the American urban experience is suggestive of the essentially political character of the globalization process and the ubiquitous role of public policy in making it work.
