Since the 1970s, local governments have utilized similar redevelopment tools to counteract economic dislocations but cities often experience divergent development pathways. This project explores why these divergences occur through a comparative case study of a college town and factory town in Indiana. Qualitatively, I compile data from interviews with city officials, local government documents, and related research to address the towns’ divergent development paths. Two findings are noteworthy. First, a locality’s extant resources act as path-dependent liabilities for local growth. Second, state and federal aid greatly assists local development. Yet the defunding of these revenue streams, and a city’s reliance on specific types of funding, positions each city in a more or less advantageous position for future prosperity. These results suggest that local development is best understood as the interplay between local infrastructures, various intergovernmental incentives, and the needs of capital.
","abstract_html":"<p>Since the 1970s, local governments have utilized similar redevelopment tools to counteract economic dislocations but cities often experience divergent development pathways. This project explores why these divergences occur through a comparative case study of a college town and factory town in Indiana. Qualitatively, I compile data from interviews with city officials, local government documents, and related research to address the towns’ divergent development paths. Two findings are noteworthy. First, a locality’s extant resources act as path-dependent liabilities for local growth. Second, state and federal aid greatly assists local development. Yet the defunding of these revenue streams, and a city’s reliance on specific types of funding, positions each city in a more or less advantageous position for future prosperity. These results suggest that local development is best understood as the interplay between local infrastructures, various intergovernmental incentives, and the needs of capital.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Malackany, Christopher A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Richard Hogan","Larry DeBoer","Robert Perrucci","Jon Teaford"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:54:02Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Indiana cities","Political economy","United States","Urban development","Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/805","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Richard Hogan","Larry DeBoer","Robert Perrucci","Jon Teaford"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Malackany, Christopher A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Indiana cities","Political economy","United States","Urban development","Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/805"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Since the 1970s, local governments have utilized similar redevelopment tools to counteract economic dislocations but cities often experience divergent development pathways. This project explores why these divergences occur through a comparative case study of a college town and factory town in Indiana. Qualitatively, I compile data from interviews with city officials, local government documents, and related research to address the towns’ divergent development paths. Two findings are noteworthy. First, a locality’s extant resources act as path-dependent liabilities for local growth. Second, state and federal aid greatly assists local development. Yet the defunding of these revenue streams, and a city’s reliance on specific types of funding, positions each city in a more or less advantageous position for future prosperity. These results suggest that local development is best understood as the interplay between local infrastructures, various intergovernmental incentives, and the needs of capital.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Local matters: Regulating economic development in two Indiana cities"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Richard Hogan","Larry DeBoer","Robert Perrucci","Jon Teaford"],"dc:creator":["Malackany, Christopher A."],"dc:description.abstract":["Since the 1970s, local governments have utilized similar redevelopment tools to counteract economic dislocations but cities often experience divergent development pathways. This project explores why these divergences occur through a comparative case study of a college town and factory town in Indiana. Qualitatively, I compile data from interviews with city officials, local government documents, and related research to address the towns’ divergent development paths. Two findings are noteworthy. First, a locality’s extant resources act as path-dependent liabilities for local growth. Second, state and federal aid greatly assists local development. Yet the defunding of these revenue streams, and a city’s reliance on specific types of funding, positions each city in a more or less advantageous position for future prosperity. These results suggest that local development is best understood as the interplay between local infrastructures, various intergovernmental incentives, and the needs of capital.
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