CAPITAL MOBILITY VERSUS UNITY OF PURPOSE: URBAN REDEVELOPMENT IN BUFFALO, N.Y. AND PITTSBURGH, PA

An investigation of factors determining whether a local economic elite can cooperate with local institutions to effect urban economic restructuring, also discussing implications for community-led restructuring, eg, suggesting that competition among business elites & communities obstructs consensus making in redevelopment strategies. It is suggested that the relative concentration of capital in Pittsburgh, Pa, & its lack in Buffalo, NY, improved the prospects for elite cooperation within & between the two cities. The elite in Pittsburgh strategically used the political & institutional environment in organizing their redevelopment efforts through a private agency. In contrast, Buffalo's fractious city politics posed obstacles to collaborative redevelopment; however, opportunity remains for a community & labor-based economic revitalization strategy. It is concluded that global & local change in economic structure have played key limiting & enabling roles in both cities. 50 References. W. Howard