Constituency of the Antigrowth Movement

This study tested the "status-growth hypothesis," which holds that antigrowth values are more pervasive among middle- and upper-class persons than those in blue-collar positions. Businessmen, however, were expected to be an exception to this pattern by displaying a strong attachment to progrowth orientations. The respondents were metropolitan residents in Iowa. Contrary to expectations, antigrowth sentiment was most pervasive among blue-collar respondents. Businessmen, as predicted, displayed the staunchest commitment of any occupational group to a growth ideology and to policies that promote urban expansion.