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The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority: A Smart Growth Machine?
Author(s) -
Morçöl Göktug,
Zimmermann Ulf,
Stich Bethany
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2003.tb00159.x
Subject(s) - atlanta , politics , corporate governance , smart growth , growth management , public administration , political science , political machine , urban politics , process (computing) , political economy , management , economics , urban planning , metropolitan area , law , engineering , geography , civil engineering , land use , archaeology , computer science , democracy , operating system
Molotch, Stone, and others demonstrated that business leaders exercise major influence in American urban politics. Business leaders with local economic interests have long promoted growth in American cities. This article discusses the historical influence of Atlanta's business leaders in the city's economic growth and focuses on their role in the policy shifts in the 1990s, from unfettered growth to “smart growth.” In response to Atlanta's worsened image for attracting business and the restrictions imposed by the EPA in using federal money, Atlanta's business leaders led the political process that created the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. The implications of this process for the theories of urban politics and the future directions for regional governance are discussed.