Explain the political economy models of urban growth that are rooted in the conflict perspective

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Conflict theorists argue that cities do not grow or decline by chance. Rather, they are

the product of specific decisions made by members of the capitalist class and political

elites. Three major themes prevail in political economy models of urban growth. First,

both economic and political factors affect patterns of urban growth and decline.

Second, urban space has both an exchange value and a use value. Third, both structure

and agency are important in understanding how urban development takes place.

According to political economy models, urban growth is influenced by capital

investment decisions, power and resource inequality, class and class conflict, and

government subsidy programs. Members of the capitalist class choose corporate

locations, decide on sites for shopping centers and factories, and spread the population

that can afford to purchase homes into sprawling suburbs located exactly where the

capitalists think they should be located. One of the major results of these urban

development practices is uneven development—the tendency of some neighborhoods,

cities, or regions to grow and prosper whereas others stagnate and decline.