The Structures of and Processes of Building Provision: A Case Study of Master-Planned Communities

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Advanced economic systems have undergone radical transformations in recent decades. Heavy emphasis on manufacturing and other forms of tangible production has given way to rapid growth in activities dealing with the collection and handling of information. Considerable scholarly attention has been given to documenting and analyzing these shifts in different economic sectors, but relatively little notice has been given to the ways that these economic shifts have altered other aspects of modern life. This project will examine the emergence of a relatively new form of urban residential development, the privately planned "new town." The project will focus on new communities established in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area between 1975 and 1990. Changing forms and patterns of investment, construction, and sales related to these new towns will be analyzed through interviews with developers, designers, and planners. Questionnaires also will be used to elicit information about the values, attitudes, and motivations of residents who settle in these communities. This project will provide detailed information about the crucial actors who collectively produced new forms of residential communities in recent decades. It also will generate new insights about the complex ways that private and public leaders interact with one another. Conclusions from this research should generate new insights about the dynamics of modern residential development, and they should provide a valuable new perspective on rapid transformations in American economic behavior. More focused information of direct utility for urban planners also will become available.