Disrupting the Growth Machine: Evidence from Hawai‘i

For much of its modern history, growth machine dynamics in Hawai‘i prevailed on a regional scale. Strikingly, recent events suggest that the hegemony of Hawai‘i’s growth machine has been disrupted. This article offers an in-depth case study of a major luxury development project on the island of Hawai‘i where development interests were thwarted despite the support of growth interests and local government officials. I show how local protesters made use of state-level historic preservation law, Native Hawaiian burial protections, state-level agricultural boundaries, and frames and meanings of land promulgated by the Native Hawaiian movement. Viewing this stalled housing project as an extended case study reveals how regional institutions and flexible social movement frames can be leveraged to promote alternatives to growth machines. I also highlight how distinctive regional institutions—that have evolved over time through institutional layering—may be prompting growth machine disruption in Hawai‘i, an understudied tourism and real-estate dependent economy. Finally, the case study suggests specific ways that local mobilization interacts with global economic downturns to shape spatial outcomes.