The author argues that the current movement to secede San Fernando Valley from the city of Los Angeles exposes significant weaknesses in the existing literature on urban fragmentation. By constructing a theoretical framework, the author explains the effort as primarily a conflict between interest groups over the power to control urban growth. Second, existing scholarship cannot explain why progrowth Valley business organizations and slow-growth Valley homeowner associations have aligned to form a potent, though seemingly unlikely, urban coalition. The author concludes that these traditional land-use foes share far more common ground on growth issues than conventional theories predict. In particular, both share elements of a suburban land-use vision that provides a substantive foundation for collective action.
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