Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985

The thesis traces the development of transportation policy formation at regional and local levels of government in the Detroit region since 1945. Three postwar transportation policy climates are identified. The first, to the early sixties, was marked by a reasonable degree of regional consensus on f...

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Main Author: Neill, William J. V.
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 1986
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14469/
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author Neill, William J. V.
author_facet Neill, William J. V.
author_sort Neill, William J. V.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The thesis traces the development of transportation policy formation at regional and local levels of government in the Detroit region since 1945. Three postwar transportation policy climates are identified. The first, to the early sixties, was marked by a reasonable degree of regional consensus on freeways as the basis of regional transportation policy. The second, covering the period to the 1970's, saw this consensus begin to break down. The subsequent period to the present has been marked by an almost total collapse in regional consensus on transportation policy. Within the maintenance of a sensitivity to the dangers inherent in structuralist Marxist theorizing, the hypothesis is explored that class relationships have been of primary influence in accounting for this "macro dynamic" of transportation policy formation. The role of physical planners and implications for planning theory is a particular focus of study. The research concludes that, at a time when "grand" Marxist theorizing is coming under criticism, the primacy of class relationships as an explanatory variable can be sustained in the case of Detroit but in terms of the development of a more adequate theory of planning the research points to the need for supplemental theory construction on the discretion and influence of planners within the class pattern (as opposed to determination) of events.
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format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
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spelling nottingham-144692025-02-28T11:31:04Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14469/ Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985 Neill, William J. V. The thesis traces the development of transportation policy formation at regional and local levels of government in the Detroit region since 1945. Three postwar transportation policy climates are identified. The first, to the early sixties, was marked by a reasonable degree of regional consensus on freeways as the basis of regional transportation policy. The second, covering the period to the 1970's, saw this consensus begin to break down. The subsequent period to the present has been marked by an almost total collapse in regional consensus on transportation policy. Within the maintenance of a sensitivity to the dangers inherent in structuralist Marxist theorizing, the hypothesis is explored that class relationships have been of primary influence in accounting for this "macro dynamic" of transportation policy formation. The role of physical planners and implications for planning theory is a particular focus of study. The research concludes that, at a time when "grand" Marxist theorizing is coming under criticism, the primacy of class relationships as an explanatory variable can be sustained in the case of Detroit but in terms of the development of a more adequate theory of planning the research points to the need for supplemental theory construction on the discretion and influence of planners within the class pattern (as opposed to determination) of events. 1986 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14469/1/373614.pdf Neill, William J. V. (1986) Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Local transportation planning Regional transportation planning Policy formation Political aspects of planning
spellingShingle Local transportation planning
Regional transportation planning
Policy formation
Political aspects of planning
Neill, William J. V.
Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title_full Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title_fullStr Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title_full_unstemmed Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title_short Transportation policy formation in Detroit 1945-1985
title_sort transportation policy formation in detroit 1945-1985
topic Local transportation planning
Regional transportation planning
Policy formation
Political aspects of planning
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14469/