A qualitative social geographical study of a community group's reaction to rapid urban growth in a free-standing service class town, Chapel Hill, NC is reported. Members of the Chapel Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods had developed a strong sense of place in the town. Growth threatened elements of that sense of place. Alliance members thought the cause of the threat lay within the Town Council's administration of Chapel Hill's planning process. They worked to have that process changed, to make it more rational. Their reaction to growth as defense of place is described.
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