Re-examining the Growth Machine Ideology of Cities

This article aims to examine (1) what impact growth machine ideology has on historic conservation and vice versa, (2) how heritage conservation effort’s institutional arrangements affect the composition and operation of growth coalitions, and (3) the impact of public concern on manipulating the growth machine ideology. This study looks at the conservation of two cases in Hong Kong, both of which have extremely high land value, to examine the complex interplay between built heritage and growth machine politics. The study also reveals how growth coalitions extend beyond formal institutional arrangements and how public concerns also greatly shape and determine the role of heritage conservation in contributing to growth in urban politics. This study provides a deeper understanding of the shifting value of heritage in cities where the growth machine thesis is espoused and examines how it is reframed by different actors.