RESIDENTS PERCEPTIONS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Molotch argues that cities may be conceived as growth machines designe d to maximize the interests of a small, powerful elite. Future land-us e and the competition for it constitute the political and economic ess ence of any locality. Each comprises a number of smaller (nested) comm unities which emerge in reaction to public policy decisions regarding land-use, with each group having a particular vision of land developme nt. On the basis of residents' perceptions, this study identifies thre e nested clusters of residents from two cities located in two differen t countries. Attitudes toward local government's role in tourism are c ompared. As hypothesized, differences among nested communities are gre ater than differences between cities.